Headlines

Greece’s four biggest banks would take a €15.5bn hit to their average capital in a future economic downturn, according to the results of the European Central Bank’s stress test of the country’s main lenders. The ECB’s health check of the Greek banking system is designed to determine if any of the banks need extra equity before the country enters talks on leaving its eight-year bailout programme. Senior Greek officials said the outcome of the exercise meant there was “no immediate need for a capital increase by any bank”.

India’s Lanco Infratech Ltd said on Thursday a panel of its creditors has not approved an insolvency resolution plan and that its administrator will file for potential liquidation of the company, Reuters reported. Lanco, among 12 of the biggest debt defaulters in India that were pushed to bankruptcy court last year, said in a stock exchange filing bit.ly/2jncWQC that a debt resolution proposal from Thriveni Earthmovers Pvt Ltd had failed to get the minimum 75 percent creditors' vote required for it to get the go ahead before the deadline expires on Friday.

An investment fund that’s seeking a payout from the Cuban government on more than $1.3 billion in defaulted debt and back interest has hired the lawyer who won a settlement for hedge funds in a long-running legal battle against Argentina, Bloomberg News reported. CRF I Ltd. contracted Matthew McGill, a partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent it in its claim against Cuba “including potential litigation,” according to a letter from the firm provided to Bloomberg News by a fund investor.

Hindustan Construction Ltd. is headed for its lowest close since June 2016 after its unit Lavasa Corp Ltd. defaulted on repayment to bondholders, Bloomberg News reported. The stock declined 16 percent as of 11:51 a.m. in Mumbai, paring an earlier drop of as much as 24 percent, making it the biggest loser on the S&P BSE 500 Index. The shares have slumped 53 percent this year compared with a 2.9 percent gain for the benchmark Sensex Index.

Brazil avoided a possible default as Congress approved funds for the payment of a loan guarantee made to Venezuela and Mozambique, Bloomberg News reported. In a 216-to-41 vote, a joint session of Congress authorized late Wednesday the release of 1.16 billion reais ($281 million) to boost a fund that guarantees exports and that will make the payments, according to the government’s news agency. Brazilian taxpayers are on the hook because Caracas looks set to miss a May 8 deadline for a $275 million debt installment.

Euro zone economic growth will slow this year and next from a peak expansion in 2017, the European Commission forecast on Thursday, underlining the need to quickly implement euro zone reforms while the expansion is still strong, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. The Commission forecast that economic growth in the 19 countries sharing the euro would slow down to 2.0 percent next year from 2.3 percent expected this year after it peaked at 2.4 percent in 2017.

British authorities are promising to continue their investigation of Cambridge Analytica, the campaign consultant at the center of the Facebook privacy scandal, even though the company is going out of business, the International New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. Cambridge Analytica announced Wednesday that it plans to file for bankruptcy in Britain and the U.S., saying negative publicity surrounding allegations that it improperly harvested data from millions of Facebook users drove potential clients away. The U.K.

General Motors’ planned $3.6 billion cash infusion to rescue its South Korean business will be in the form of loans, while Korea Development Bank (KDB) will receive preference shares for its $750 million investment in GM Korea, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The Detroit carmaker and state-run KDB agreed last week on $7.15 billion of investment, including a $2.8 billion debt-for-equity swap for existing loans GM Korea owed to its parent, Reuters reported.

The committee of creditors of bankrupt Essar Steel Ltd. today discussed eligibility issues with Numetal and ArcelorMittal for bidding for the 10-million steel mill at Hazira, people familiar with the development said. These companies were given time till May 1 by the lenders to give then in writing that they were fit to bid, Bloomberg Quint reported. “The CoC had given them time till Tuesday evening to submit in writing why they are eligible to bid. Today, both the companies gave presentation to the CoC on their eligibility,” said a banker.

Binani Cement Ltd.’s committee of creditors were today directed by the National Company Law Tribunal to consider a revised offer from UltraTech Cement Ltd, Bloomberg Quint reported. The Kolkata bench of the NCLT asked UltraTech to place a fresh bid before Binani Cement’s resolution professional in three days and extended the resolution process till June 24. The 270-day period for Binani Cement’s insolvency process would have ended in April, had the NCLT not provided this extension. The tribunal also allowed Dalmia Group to match UltraTech’s revised offer, if it so chooses.