Headlines

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took on critics who accuse him of failing to pursue “big bang” liberalization measures to revamp his country’s economy, saying he has set a path for accelerated growth that India’s states now need to help navigate. In an interview in his residence compound Wednesday, on the eve of his second anniversary in office, Mr. Modi said he had opened up more of the economy to foreign investment and made changes to curb corruption, fill gaps in rural infrastructure and make it easier to do business. “I have actually undertaken the maximum reforms,” Mr. Modi said.

The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to the company operating Debenhams eleven stores here, the Irish Times reported. Debenhams Retail (Ireland) Ltd directly employs 1,400 staff while 500 concession staff and 300 cosmetics staff also work in the company’s stores. DRIL sought court protection earlier this month arising from consistent losses sustained since the recession in 2007 and following the withdrawal of support of its UK parent company, Debenhams Retail plc.

Ulster Bank is lining up the sale of €875 million of troubled mortgages belonging to uncooperative customers who are deep in arrears and litigation, the Irish Times reported. The mortgages, a third of which are against 900 private dwellings, are part of a broader portfolio of loans with a par value of €2.5 billion that the UK government-controlled lender is launching this week. The loans will be sold at a discount, reflecting the fall in asset values since the outset of the financial crisis.

The authorities in Switzerland said on Tuesday that they had begun criminal proceedings against one of the country’s oldest banks, BSI, after allegations that it had laundered huge sums for “politically exposed” individuals linked to a scandal-plagued Malaysian state investment fund, the International New York Times reported. The Swiss attorney general’s office said in a statement that it suspected “deficiencies in the internal organization of the BSI S.A.

Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund tried again to resolve a standoff over Greece’s bailout—including how to reduce the country’s mountain of debt—which has held up new aid payments for the country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mozambique is unwilling to convert a loan extended to a state-owned company into sovereign debt to avoid a default, according to an official familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because he’s not authorized to speak on the matter, Bloomberg News reported. Talks between the government and creditors to restructure the $535 million loan to Mozambique Asset Management, or MAM, were still going on, the official said from the capital, Maputo.

A former managing director of Mothercare and Burton is leading a bid for BHS backed by a wealthy Portuguese family, which has emerged as the frontrunner to rescue the department store chain. Greg Tufnell, the brother of former England cricketer Phil Tufnell, has been holding talks with administrators, The Guardian reported. It is understood that Tufnell aims to become BHS chairman. He is working alongside Nick de Scossa, a Swiss banker, and José Maria Soares Bento, thought to working with a wealthy family in Portugal.

The cost of payment protection insurance (PPI) payouts continues to hang over Clydesdale Bank after it announced a £450m charge for the mis-selling scandal in its first results as a stock market-listed company, The Guardian reported. Officially known as CYBG since being spun out of National Australia Bank (NAB) earlier this year, the bank is trying to cut costs to bolster its profitability as an independent entity.

A four-month rally in offshore yuan bonds has helped issuance almost double this quarter. Further gains may depend on whether China can limit currency losses and defaults, Bloomberg News reported. Offerings of yuan debt outside China jumped to 23.8 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), from 12.9 billion yuan in the first quarter that was the lowest since 2013, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The yield premium for the notes versus onshore peers has narrowed as the yuan rallied in Hong Kong to erase this year’s declines.

The International Monetary Fund confronted Germany over Greece’s unsustainable debt burden, issuing a bleak assessment of its financial future just as eurozone finance ministers prepared for a crunch meeting on debt relief, the Financial Times reported.