Headlines

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said "considerable progress" has been made in mending Ireland's banks but more needs to be done to ensure the stability of the country's financial system, The Wall Street Journal reported. The "outstanding issues" include completing the restructure of damaged banks, dealing with "the still very large stock" of soured loans and "ensuring the viability of all nationalized banks," Mr. Draghi wrote in a March 20 letter he sent in reply to correspondence from Fianna Fáil, Ireland's largest opposition party. The party released the letter Monday.

Two companies have filed bankruptcy suits against Kosmos, one of the country's oldest construction firms, The Moscow Times reported. Moskapstroi-Nedvizhimost, a Sistema subsidiary, said it paid Kosmos 100 million rubles ($2.7 million) last fall as part of a reconstruction project in central Moscow, but that work had still not begun, Vedomosti reported. A Sistema employee said that the two sides had reached a settlement agreement and that the money would be returned. The second bankruptcy case, filed by Tsniis, a civil engineering company, is due to be heard April 4.

Sunways, a German subsidiary of stricken Chinese firm LDK Solar, has entered insolvency proceedings for the second time, PV-Tech reported. The module, cell and inverter manufacturer said it would file for insolvency on 21 March at a court in Konstanz. The company has said it is looking to use a restructuring period to negotiate with creditors and continue to function as a listed company. Sunways said it had already begun talking to potential investors. "The board is already in talks with potential investors and will continue these talks regardless of the filing," Sunways said in a statement.

Brazilian shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA has 60 days to present its restructuring plan under bankruptcy legislation now that a new judge has been appointed to the case, the company said in a filing on Friday, Reuters reported. The Third Commercial Section of the Rio de Janeiro-State Justice Tribunal will hear the case and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will act as trustee responsible for conducting the judicial process, the filing said. The deadline to file was suspended last month while another court reviewed a challenge to OSX's Nov. 11 bankruptcy protection filing.

Sears Canada Inc said on Friday it will refund payments or offer alternative services to customers affected by the collapse of SHS Services Management Inc, which provided home-improvement services on behalf of Sears Canada, Reuters reported. SHS, which did installations such as roofing and window replacement, ceased operations and went into receivership late last year. It began operating Sears' home improvement business in March 2013. It is liquidating assets to repay creditors owed more than C$8.9 million ($7.91 million), according to the receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.

Global ratings agency Moody’s says the outlook for Irish banks remains negative because of the “extremely high level” of problem loans, the Irish Times reported. In a report published yesterday, Moody’s Investors Service noted poor performing loans accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the rated banks’ total loans. Ongoing asset-quality problems exposed Irish lenders to further valuation adjustments, it warned, despite growing signs of recovery in the wider economy. On the upside, the agency predicted new loan impairments were likely to continue to decrease and profitability improve.

Mt. Gox said on Friday it found 200,000 "forgotten" bitcoins on March 7, a week after the Tokyo-based digital currency exchange filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it lost nearly all the 850,000 bitcoins it held, worth some $500 million at today's prices, Reuters reported. Mt. Gox made the announcement on its website. Online sleuths had noticed around 200,000 bitcoins moving through the crypto-currency exchange after the bankruptcy filing.

A disproportionate number of ACT companies, including those in construction, are going broke because they are under-capitalised, according to liquidator Eddie Senatore, who has more than 25 years' experience in insolvency, The Canberra Times reported. This occurs when a company cannot afford operational expenses because of a lack of capital. For the ACT, the problem accounts for 16 per cent of insolvencies, almost twice the national average at 9 per cent.

European Union lawmakers struck a deal on legislation to create a single agency to handle failing euro-area banks after an all-night negotiating marathon ahead of a summit of EU leaders starting today in Brussels, Bloomberg News reported. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was drawn into the talks around 5:30 a.m as the discussion pressed on and negotiators reached out to nations that had taken the hardest line against speeding up decision-making and funding for the proposed Single Resolution Mechanism. Lawmakers emerged around 7:15 a.m.

Mexican homebuilder Geo , which has struggled with a heavy debt load and slumping home sales, has filed for bankruptcy after gaining the support of the majority of its creditors, Reuters reported. Geo, once Mexico's biggest homebuilder with sales of 55,485 homes in 2012, stopped making debt repayments last year. Creditors Banamex, HSBC, Banorte, Santander, Inbursa and BBVA Bancomer agreed to the bankruptcy plan, Geo said in a statement on Thursday. Foreign bond holders also supported the plan, Geo said, without specifying how many.