Headlines

The number of companies declared insolvent in England and Wales last month was 17% higher than a year earlier, as many businesses continued to struggle following a surge in costs last year and ongoing high interest rates, Reuters reported. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said 2,102 companies were declared insolvent, up from 1,801 in February 2023 and more than 50% higher than in February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit Britain.

Insolvent Romanian insurer Euroins, under the external management of CITR insolvency experts, has sued the Bulgarian reinsurance company EIG Re in order to recover some RON 800 million (EUR 160 million) transferred by the Romanian subsidiary a couple of weeks before losing its operating license, Romania-Insider.com reported. CITR sued EIG Re, a reinsurance firm in the Eurohold group, both in Romania and Bulgaria, Economica.net reported. The money was transferred to EIG Re under a contract with unusual clauses that block Euroins’ access to the funds in case it loses the operating license.

Indian tech firm Think & Learn Pvt must freeze $533 million in order to protect the money for disgruntled lenders who claim the cash should only be used to pay them, a U.S. judge said yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. The decision by US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey was a mixed victory for lenders. They earlier demanded the money be placed under the control of the federal court to prevent the cash from being spent by the Indian education-tech firm, which operates under the name Byju’s.

Lawyers for top liquidator Kieran Wallace cannot “drive a coach and four” through insolvency legislation with a novel claim for over €6 million on behalf of an insolvent pension fund, a State barrister has said, the Irish Times reported. The remark was made on the final day of hearing into a complaint under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, taken by Mr Wallace against the Minister for Enterprise.

Telecom Italia's business plan for the new company emerging from the sale of the former phone monopoly's fixed line network is sustainable, Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on March 14, Reuters reported. Shares in the former phone monopoly plunged last week after TIM unveiled its three-year strategy and outlook for the business emerging after the network sale to U.S. fund KKR, piling pressure on TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola.

China’s central bank kept its key policy rates unchanged on Friday while reporting a net withdrawal of liquidity from the financial market, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China held its one-year medium-term lending facility steady at 2.5% while injecting 387 billion yuan ($53.80 billion) worth of liquidity through the monetary tool, according to a statement on its website. There was a total of CNY481 billion of MLF loans due Friday, indicating a net withdrawal of liquidity.

China’s bank loans expanded at the slowest pace on record in February, underscoring weakness in borrowing demand despite steps by the central bank to ease policy and help the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The stock of yuan loans grew 9.7% in February from a year ago, the lowest in data going back to 2003, according to figures released by the People’s Bank of China on Friday. It was also the first time the rate dropped below 10%. The stock of aggregate financing — a broad measure of credit — expanded just 9%, also near a record low.

Ghanaian authorities and international bondholders expect to begin talks this week aimed at a deal to restructure roughly $13 billion of defaulted global debt, Bloomberg News reported. A group representing the private investors and government officials plan to hold meetings to kick off negotiations over the coming days. Creditors entered into non-disclosure agreements with the government this week, signaling a first step in the process. Bondholders are weighing a proposal put forth by the government.

Colombia’s slowing inflation and weak economy call for more aggressive interest rate cuts, though policymakers must remain vigilant to potential risks ahead, according to a member of the central bank’s board, Bloomberg News reported. The fact that inflation has been above target for the past three years demands prudence, even after it eased in February to the slowest pace in nearly two years, central bank co-director Bibiana Taboada said in an interview.

Nigerian authorities have asked an Abuja court to extend the detention of two Binance executives caught up in the country's cryptocurrency crackdown after an initial warrant used to hold them lapsed this week, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance's head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance's regional manager for Africa, flew to Nigeria following the country's decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites, but they were detained on arrival on Feb. 26.