Headlines

Shares in Provident Financial Group dropped as much as 19 per cent at the start of trading on Wednesday, after the FTSE 100 group warned that reorganising its doorstop lending business would hit profits far more severely than expected., the Financial Times reported. Provident announced a major reorganisation of its “home credit” business alongside its full-year results in February, planning to axe around 2,000 of its self-employed agents and move thousands more into new positions on the company payroll.

Greece's prime minister said Wednesday that his bailout-reliant country will "very soon" be in a position to tap bond markets again, which would be Greece's first test of investor sentiment since 2014. Alexis Tsipras told his cabinet that this was a result of last week's deal with European creditors, which eased fears Greece might face another brush with bankruptcy this summer, the International New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. That's evident in the sharp fall in the interest rates the markets are ascribing to Greek government bonds.

Eddie Lampert’s efforts to keep his crumbling Sears Holdings Corp. empire out of bankruptcy court may be running out of time. Sears Canada Inc., which operates more than 200 stores, has hired advisers and is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in Canada, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sears Canada is expected to seek protection from creditors under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, the equivalent of chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. A Sears Canada spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Mr.

Already reeling from a $4.5 billion bill to save its ailing No. 1 lender, Ukraine is now bracing for an even costlier rescue, and says audits by PwC’s local office were instrumental in the bank’s failure, Bloomberg News reported. The government may have to stump up 38.5 billion hryvnia ($1.5 billion) more to recapitalize Privatbank after last year’s state takeover, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The figure is from due diligence carried out by Ernst and Young Audit Services LLC, which estimated a “conservative” shortfall of 192 billion hryvnia before nationalization.

Azerbaijan’s biggest bank has offered creditors, including Fidelity and Allianz, a series of concessions in a bid to calm disquiet over its $3.3bn restructuring, amid claims that its mishandling of the issue could hurt the country’s investor profile, the Financial Times reported. The state-run International Bank of Azerbaijan, under pressure from a US lawsuit, was forced into negotiations with a group of investors last week. The bank has offered creditors new terms, including extra amortisation payments on new debt, a guaranteed choice of new bonds and an increased interest payment.

South Korea’s troubled shipbuilding industry is showing signs of recovery, with the country’s three biggest shipyards surpassing rivals in China and Japan in terms of new orders, the Financial Times reported.s Daewoo Shipbuilding had the biggest order backlog among global shipbuilders with 88 ships representing 6.26m CGTs (compensated gross tonnes) as of the end of May. Hyundai Heavy Industries’ 65 vessels totalling 3.33m CGTs was next, followed by Samsung Heavy Industries’ 60 ships totaling 3.2m CGTs, according to industry tracker Clarkson Research.

Italy has hired Rothschild to find buyers for the best assets of two ailing Veneto-based lenders, with Intesa Sanpaolo viewed as the most likely taker, said several sources close to the situation. The move is part of a new plan by the Rome government that envisages the effective liquidation of Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca with the help of state money to reduce losses for the lenders' private investors, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story.

Brazilian banks are wrestling with a growing pile of assets they’d rather not own: at least 13.8 billion reais ($4.2 billion) of cars, real estate, equipment and other collateral seized when borrowers defaulted on their loans, Bloomberg News reported. The total surged 42 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier at eight of the nation’s biggest lenders as fallout from the worst recession in Brazil’s history continues to weigh on banks’ finances, according to the companies’ financial statements.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) will meet on Thursday to decide whether an extension of one of Noble Group’s loan facilities will trigger a payout on credit-default swaps (CDS) linked to the struggling commodities trader, the Financial Times reported. The “general interest question” was submitted on Monday and the derivatives trade body accepted it for review by one of its determinations committees on Tuesday.

Just days after Noble Group Ltd. secured a $2 billion loan extension, some investors in the credit protection market are looking to get paid. The International Swaps & Derivatives Association has been asked to decide whether a four-month loan extension from the Hong Kong-based company’s banks constitutes a so-called restructuring credit event, Bloomberg News reported. An anonymous party filed a petition on Monday asking the determinations committee to consider the question, which could mean payouts for holders of credit-default swaps on almost $5 billion of company debt.