Headlines

The Central Bank has warned of the “increased indebtedness” of consumers who sign PCPs, as well as the banking system’s exposure to the car market with the controversial scheme now the go-to source for finance in the Irish market, the Irish Times reported. PCPs, or personal contract plans, were introduced following the economic crash as sales of new cars fell by 63 per cent in 2009. They address situations whereby consumers do not have enough trade-in value to use their car as a deposit for a new one.

An Ontario court has approved a restructuring plan for beleaguered junior Canadian gold company Banro Corp., paving the way for it to emerge from creditor protection, The Globe and Mail reported. Under the terms approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, holders of US$207.5-million in debt instruments and US$20-million in gold-forward agreements will swap their securities for equity in a revamped Banro. Additional obligations under gold-forward agreements worth US$30.9-million will be deferred for a number of years.

Portuguese lender Novo Banco has reported a net loss of €1.4bn, underlining how southern European banks are still struggling to repair their balance sheets after its new US private equity owners booked big provisions on bad loans, the Financial Times reported. The beleaguered bank, born out of the wreckage of Banco Espírito Santo and taken over by Lone Star of the US last year, said it would draw €792m of previously committed funding from a resolution fund owned by Portugal’s other banks.

Noble Group Ltd said on Wednesday that creditors holding the majority of its senior debt now accept its $3.4 billion restructuring plan, Reuters reported. The beleaguered commodity trader said support for the deal, seen as critical for the firm’s survival, has risen to 55 percent from 46 percent on March 14. The proposed restructuring agreement requires approval by a majority of existing senior creditors representing 75 percent in value of its debt. The firm said in a statement it is making “solid progress” towards the deal and would extend the deadline for subscriptions to April 11.

Glencore Plc is considering a bid for the Optimum coal operations in South Africa, which it sold in 2015 to a company part-owned by the politically connected Gupta family, according to two people familiar with the matter. Optimum supplies fuel to state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and became a lightning rod issue for critics of the Gupta family members and their friendship with former president Jacob Zuma. Glencore placed the mine in bankruptcy protection in 2015 after Eskom refused to renegotiate an unprofitable supply contract and issued penalties, Bloomberg News reported.

A troubled Luxembourg brokerage has sought outside help to fulfil a crucial role in the restructuring of $1.2bn of structured bonds backed by defaulted airlines such as Air Berlin and Alitalia, the Financial Times reported. The fate of the $1.2bn of debt at two special-purpose vehicles tied to Etihad has been in the balance since last summer, after the collapse of Italian airline Alitalia and Germany’s Air Berlin. The Abu Dhabi carrier had snapped up stakes in the two airlines as part of an ill-fated push into Europe.

Dominic Chappell, the former bankrupt who bought the failed retailer BHS for £1, is facing a ban on serving as a company director but previous owner Philip Green will avoid a similar fate following an investigation into the chain’s collapse in 2016. The Insolvency Service, a UK government agency, said on Tuesday that it intends to ban Dominic Chappell and three other former BHS directors from serving as company directors for up to 15 years, the Financial Times reported.

Italian government debt has the potential to be most affected among eurozone countries by the uncertainty over replacing Euribor, Europe’s main interbank lending rate that has been tarnished by rigging scandals, the Financial Times reported. Almost €150bn of floating rate Italian debt is tied to the benchmark, according to new research by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. About €15bn of Irish debt is linked to Euribor while some €7.2bn of Portuguese bonds are.

Discovery Air has been granted creditor protection under the federal Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, which means the company can stay in business and avoid bankruptcy. Protection is granted to companies with more than $5 million in debt, so they can work with their creditors to find a solution and restructure their businesses, CBC Canada reported. Discovery Air owes about $149 million in secured and unsecured debts as of January 31, according to court documents. Discovery Air is the parent company of three businesses: Great Slave Helicopters, Air Tindi and Discovery Mining Services Ltd.

Noble Group Ltd warned on Monday that it would begin insolvency proceedings if the beleaguered commodity trader’s $3.4 billion debt restructuring proposal was not approved by shareholders, Reuters reported. Noble’s debt restructuring process is seen as critical for the firm’s survival. But the deal has been opposed by some bondholders and shareholders, including Goldilocks Investment Co, which has an 8.1 percent stake in the firm.