Headlines

MF Global UK's administrator KPMG has recovered more than $2.5 billion of the $4 billion of claims it expects from the defunct broker's British clients and creditors, Reuters reported. KPMG said in an emailed statement that it has recovered $1.6 billion for general creditors' claims against the broker and $923 million for clients. "We have seen some substantial progress made since our last progress report six months ago," said KPMG's Richard Heis, who pointed out that the sum recovered for general claims had doubled over the past six months.

Greece took the first steps Thursday to pay off billions of euros in arrears to private-sector companies and individuals—some dating back several years—once it receives its next cash infusion from its international creditors, The Wall Street Journal reported. Greece's pension funds and health services are likely to be paid off first in a move that is expected to inject cash and boost consumption in the liquidity-starved economy, Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said Thursday during a presentation of a list of suppliers and individuals that require repayment.

Vitro SAB, the Mexican glassmaker that has been fighting hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. and other creditors over its restructuring, lost an appeals court bid to enforce its bankruptcy plan in the U.S., Bloomberg reported. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled against Vitro today and upheld a bankruptcy court ruling that denied enforcement of the reorganization, a result that Vitro had warned would create “chaos” for the company.

The board of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA on Wednesday approved the bank's request for more government funds than planned, which will likely lead to the government taking a larger stake in the Italian bank, The Wall Street Journal reported. The bank will issue €3.9 billion ($5.05 billion)—about €500 million more than originally planned—in bonds that the government will underwrite, with the condition that the coupon attached to them will be converted into shares if the bank ends the year with a net loss.

Kuwaiti firm Global Investment House’s decision to use the UK courts could set a new precedent for debt restructuring in the Gulf as the company bypasses Kuwaiti law to push through its second debt deal in three years, the Financial Times reported. The Gulf company is the first to try to use a London court “scheme” to force a minority of creditors to accept the terms of its new $1.7bn restructuring plan, which aims to grant creditors a 70 per cent stake in the investment company.

Ireland's new insolvency regime may push losses at participating banks higher in the short term but the laws are an important part of resolving the crisis in the sector, the central bank said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. In response to growing arrears among homeowners and outdated bankruptcy laws, Ireland has proposed new non-judicial routes for struggling mortgage holders to settle both unsecured and secured debts of up to 3 million euros ($3.9 million). The new laws are being passed through parliament and set to be introduced early next year.

European Union regulators gave the green light to €37 billion ($47.9 billion) in euro-zone funding for Spain's stricken banking sector on Wednesday, setting in motion a long-term cleanup, The Wall Street Journal reported. In exchange, four nationalized banks agreed to make sharp cuts in their balance sheets and payrolls—a retrenchment that carries the risk of intensifying Spain's credit crunch in the midst of a deep recession.

Political interference has impeded an investigation into the collapse of Afghanistan's largest private lender, with some investors, including President Hamid Karzai's brother Mahmood, escaping scrutiny, a joint Afghan-international watchdog said in a report released Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Afghan Attorney General's investigation into Kabul Bank's 2010 collapse has led to the prosecution of several bank executives, who have been on trial in the Afghan capital for about a month.

Indian wind-turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd. has reached an agreement with its lenders to restructure 110 billion rupees ($1.98 billion) of local loans, a person with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company will get a two-year holiday on interest and principal payments on the debt, which was due in five to six years, this person said. At the end of two years, the loans will be repaid over eight years at a lower interest rate, the person added. Suzlon declined to comment on the matter.

Eurozone governments could be forced to accept losses on their rescue loans to Greece after Monday’s late-night deal to overhaul its bailout failed to agree how to reach new debt targets for the struggling country, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. After three gatherings in two weeks, eurozone finance ministers agreed to release a long-delayed €34.4bn aid payment to Athens. But the series of measures agreed, which could relieve Greece of billions of euros in debt by the end of the decade, do not go far enough.