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Germany will give financial assistance to customers hit by the insolvency of Thomas Cook because the tour operator’s insurance cover has proved insufficient, Reuters reported today. “Damages that are not compensated by other parties will be settled by the federal government,” it said in a statement, confirming a report by broadcaster ARD. Insurer Zurich’s liability is capped at 110 million euros ($121 million) but it has already registered claims worth 250 million and experts estimate total claims will reach 300 million to 500 million euros, ARD said.
Koovs Plc said yesterday that administrators had sold its business and assets to SGIK 3 Investments Ltd, an entity owned by the online fashion retailer’s largest secured creditor and chairman Waheed Alli, Reuters reported. The company said earlier yesterday that it would apply to place itself into administration after its largest shareholder, India’s Future Lifestyle Fashion, failed to invest a further 6.5 million pounds ($8.34 million). Indian billionaire Kishore Biyani’s Future Lifestyle Fashion is part of the country’s largest retail firm Future Group.
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South Korea is taking steps to prevent households from getting hurt by the record debt they owe, and that’s prompting the issuance of a flood of top-rated won bonds to help finance the policy, Bloomberg News reported. The government is encouraging low-income home owners to tap state-backed Korea Housing Finance Corp. to refinance their loans. Borrowers can apply to shift into fixed-rate loans from floating rate so they aren’t burned if interest rates rise, and get into amortized debt whose interest and principal are paid at the same time.
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Brazil’s Odebrecht creditors have delayed the vote on the conglomerate’s new bankruptcy plan to Dec. 19, according to representatives for the conglomerate, Reuters reported. The company said in a statement that 20 of the 21 subsidiaries have agreed to delay the vote on the restructuring to Dec. 19. Creditors of one last subsidiary, Atvos Investments, are still discussing the delay. Odebrecht presented the new restructuring plan to creditors yesterday.
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TransUnion Canada reported that delinquency rates are moving higher as the cost of living increases and servicing debt takes a bigger share of disposable income, Bloomberg News reported. The credit reporting firm said on Monday 5.54 percent of consumers were 90 or more days past due on at least one non-mortgage credit product in the third quarter, compared with 5.25 percent in the same period in 2018. The 29 basis point increase is the largest since 2012, and comes after several years of declining or little changed delinquency rates.
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A Switzerland-based subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC on Tuesday admitted helping Americans evade taxes over a decade and agreed to pay $192 million to settle criminal charges, the Wall Street Journal reported. The penalty includes $60 million that represents the value of unpaid taxes resulting from HSBC Private Bank’s role in the conspiracy, U.S. authorities said. The total fine also includes $71.8 million in revenue that must be forfeited, stemming from fees earned from handling the undeclared accounts, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
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The government is set to firewall companies facing insolvency resolution from the action fo their promoters to make it more attractive for suitors, The Times of India reported. The 10-odd amendments set to be moved by finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament will provide that promoters of companies where insolvency action is initiated will have unlimited liability in case of any criminal action while the corporate entity will be being-fenced from the action.
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Top officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States signed a fresh overhaul of a quarter-century-old trade pact yesterday that aims to improve enforcement of worker rights and hold down prices for biologic drugs by eliminating a patent provision, Reuters reported. The signing ceremony in Mexico City launched what may be the final approval effort for U.S. President Donald Trump’s three-year quest to revamp the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal he has blamed for the loss of millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
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Avianca Holdings SA said yesterday that it reached agreements with creditors and secured fresh financing, completing a restructuring of its debt that will free up cash as it pursues a turnaround plan, Bloomberg News reported. The Bogota-based carrier received approval from major creditors with whom it had been negotiating since June, when it began to defer principal payments and announced a “re-profiling” of its debt. The company said it secured extensions of bank lines, letters of credit, and other agreements with more than 125 creditors and suppliers.
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Koovs Plc said today that it would apply to place the online fashion retailer into administration as Indian billionaire Kishore Biyani’s Future Lifestyle Fashions failed to invest a further 6.5 million pounds ($8.34 million), Reuters reported. Koovs said that it could not get alternative funding and expects its assets to be bought from the administrator by a company connected to the Koovs’ largest secured creditor and chairman Waheed Alli, ensuring the continuation of the operating business.