Headlines

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board on Friday approved Egypt’s request for a $12 billion loan facility, after the North African country met its requirements to implement tough measures to revive its floundering economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. The first tranche of $2.75 billion can be disbursed immediately and will be added to the cash-strapped country’s international reserves, the IMF said. The bailout “will help Egypt restore macroeconomic stability and promote inclusive growth,” the fund said.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris and some creditors of Oi SA have renewed their ties and are working on a post-bankruptcy protection plan for the Brazilian phone carrier that could be ready within 30 days, Reuters reported. In a joint statement released on Friday, a group that includes about 70 bond firms that are advised by Moelis & Co and Sawiris affirmed their rejection of a plan proposed by Oi's management on Sept. 5. Reuters reported on Oct. 21 that Sawiris and the Moelis-led group had teamed up, pledging to inject $1.5 billion into Oi.

Ireland has one of the highest shares of non-performing SME loans in the European Union, with many property-related loans secured on SME businesses during the boom, Central Bank governor Philip Lane has said, the Irish Times reported. Speaking at ISME’s annual conference, Mr Lane added that the stock of outstanding balances in default had declined, with fewer SMEs entering default and more returning to performing-loan status. “The SME sector has undergone substantial deleveraging: the stock of loans to SMEs in 2016 is about half that in 2010,” he said.

UK banks look set to boost their loss-absorbing buffers by issuing callable senior debt after being given explicit sign-off to use the structure by the Bank of England, Reuters reported. Two banks could sell the debt as soon as next week, taking advantage of the better-than-expected market conditions that have followed Donald Trump's US election victory. Barclays is one of the rumoured names.

South Korean shipbuilder STX Offshore and Shipbuilding has had its debt restructuring plan approved by its creditors, allowing it to continue operating, IHS Jane’s reported. The company, which owns a major commercial and naval shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in France, is currently being offered for sale by a bankruptcy court overseeing the claims of organisations, which had provided the company with an increasing amount of credit.

Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer John Cryan’s troubles range from the company’s mounting legal costs to stricter regulation that’s eroding returns. And there’s at least one challenge he shares with his German rivals: Europe’s most competitive market. “Deutsche Bank still has a lot to deal with, but the German market as a whole is pretty rotten,” said Martin Wilhelm, founder of IfK GmbH, which manages more than 600 million euros ($650 million) of fixed-income securities in Kiel, Germany.

Russian state development bank VEB will manage to pay back outstanding debt next year though it will be difficult, the bank's chairman Sergei Gorkov said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Gorkov said VEB had to pay back around 250 billion rubles ($3.9 billion) in outstanding debt next year but Russia's state spending plan envisages only 150 billion rubles for repayment of its debt. "Indeed, it will be tough for us, not an easy task... but we will manage," Gorkov told reporters.

The Central Bank has sold a further €500 million of the boom-time debts racked up by the former Anglo Irish Bank. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has announced it acquired the 2043 floating-rate bonds from the Central Bank and cancelled them, the Irish Times reported. The transaction is part of the scheme to eliminate the old Anglo promissory notes that were used to bail out the floundering institution at the height of the last financial crisis. The promissory notes were replaced with government debt held by the Central Bank.

Germany’s pension insolvency vehicle, the Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein (PSVaG), has for the first time since its inception in 1975 set the contribution rate for companies to 0 per thousand. Because so few insolvencies were reported this year, the PSVaG will not have to take on pension liabilities from companies in financial trouble. The PSVaG also waived its right to set advance payments for 2017 but added that it would review this decision early next year.

Brazilian politicians are stepping up efforts to impede the country’s biggest-yet corruption probe, says a prosecutor leading the investigation, as a power struggle intensifies between the legislative and judiciary branches. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Deltan Dallagnol, one of the federal prosecutors spearheading the so-called Operation Car Wash investigation, said recent congressional maneuverings are aimed at undermining the massive probe and granting broad immunity to lawmakers.