Headlines

A Lebanese judge has ordered a protective freeze on some property assets of SGBL bank, its CEO and two board members in a case filed by a Jordanian businessman seeking repatriation of millions of dollars in deposits, a judicial document showed, Reuters reported. It was the first such move in cases brought against Lebanese lenders by customers seeking access to dollar deposits frozen under informal capital controls. The curbs, imposed by the banks in late 2019, also largely blocked customers from making transfers abroad.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a law to create a credit tribunal that will improve loan recovery and strengthen the regulatory framework for managing failing or distressed lenders, the presidency said on Friday, Reuters reported. The aim of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 is to update existing laws and it comes in response to developments in the financial sector over the past 20 years, spokesman Garba Shehu said.

A smattering of high-profile Chinese debt defaults this week may give bullish foreign investors pause and likely dampen the debt sales outlook, bankers and analysts said, as a bond market selloff revived worries about flaky government support, Reuters reported. State-owned miner Yongcheng Coal and Electricity Holding Group surprised investors and sparked a regulatory probe by defaulting this week on debt obligations just three weeks after it raised a billion yuan ($151 million).

Brilliance Automotive Holdings, the Chinese joint venture partner of BMW, said its parent Huachen Automotive Group may undergo restructuring after a creditor filed an application to a Chinese court, Reuters reported. Huachen, owned by the government of Liaoning province, defaulted on a 1-billion-yuan ($151.88 million) bond last month, joining a growing number of delinquent state firms in a development that hit investor confidence and roiled China’s credit bond market.

The United States, China and other G20 countries on Friday agreed for the first time on a common approach for restructuring government debt as the coronavirus crisis leaves some poorer nations at risk of default, Reuters reported. The agreement came as Zambia said it would not pay an overdue Eurobond coupon by Friday’s deadline, putting it on track to become Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default.

Argentina’s Chubut Province said on Saturday it had struck a debt deal in principle with a majority of its creditors after a successful sovereign debt restructuring earlier this year opened the door for local governments to resolve their regional crises, Reuters reported. Chubut and its bondholders will restructure $680 million in bonds originally set to mature in 2026, exchanging them for bonds due in July 2030, the province said in a statement.

British fashion group Arcadia, which is controlled by retail businessman Philip Green, denied a report on Sunday it was about to go into administration but said it was taking “appropriate steps” to protect the business from the impact of the latest coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reported. Arcadia, which runs brands including Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, employs about 15,000. “It is not true that administrators are about to be appointed,” said a spokesman for Arcadia.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it was in talks with Zambian authorities about how best to support the country as it heads toward Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default, Reuters reported. Any IMF financial support for Zambia would be contingent on steps to restore debt sustainability, an IMF spokeswoman said, underscoring the importance of every stakeholder making an effort to help countries in distress.

Zambia faces a crucial vote that could see it become the first African country to default on sovereign debt payments since the outbreak of the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic almost eight months ago, Bloomberg News reported. Holders of its $3 billion in Eurobonds attending meetings at a law company in London on Friday are expected to reject a government request for a payment holiday after the government last month missed an interest payment on $1 billion of bonds due 2024.

One of the EU’s crowning institutional achievements in the wake of the global financial crisis was the creation of the European Stability Mechanism — a permanent bailout instrument designed to provide billions of euros in cheap loans to struggling sovereigns, the Financial Times reported. But amid the EU’s latest economic crash, the ESM has been conspicuously absent in the debate about how to inject fiscal firepower into Europe’s pandemic-ravaged economy.