Headlines

Large loans from foreign banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG, helped to feed "the buildup of risk" in Iceland's banking system, which collapsed spectacularly in 2008, a comprehensive report from a parliamentary commission concluded, The Wall Street Journal reported. The big loans to Icelandic tycoons helped to fund their spree of corporate acquisitions—and helped turn the fish-exporting nation of 300,000 people into an unlikely financial center.

Nortel Networks Corp. has received another extension to its creditor protection, this time until the end of July, to give the fallen Canadian technology company more time to complete a court-supervised restructuring, The Canadian Press reported. The Ontario Superior Court has extended its protection to July 22, 2010, to provide stability while the insolvent company works out a plan to pay off its creditors, Nortel said Wednesday.

AbitibiBowater Inc., the Canadian paper company that sought bankruptcy protection a year ago to restructure its crushing debt load, is seeking a three-month extension to file a reorganization plan, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The Montreal-based newsprint giant is asking for an extension through July 21 of its sole right to file a Chapter 11 plan, according to papers filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

Ireland’s new head of financial regulation, Matthew Elderfield, said he planned to address serious corporate governance failures at the financial institutions by limiting the number of directorships that bank board members can hold, The Irish Times reported. Mr Elderfield said he planned to publish proposals shortly that will “set more exacting standards” for the boards of banks and insurers. “Recent history shows that many boards need to raise their game.

Some banking industry representatives jokingly call him "the wannabe Minister of Consumer Affairs." But while Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is taking steps to protect bank customers in Canada, he's also fighting the banking sector's battles on the world stage, The Globe and Mail reported. Mr. Flaherty quietly released regulations yesterday to safeguard home buyers who need mortgage insurance and, according to sources, has put the finishing touches on new rules governing how credit and debit payments work and how banks promote insurance online.

Criminal charges have been laid against Lombard Finance & Investments directors Sir Douglas Graham, Michael Reeves, William Jeffries and Lawrence Bryant, The National Business Review reported. The Securities Commission has confirmed the criminal charges, ending earlier speculation, and said the new charges relate to the same allegations as the civil proceedings announced earlier this week.

Dubai International Capital said Tuesday that it will continue with its plan to refinance its German aluminum company Almatis, despite distressed-debt investor Oaktree Capital implementing U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that could see it take control of the company, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The announcement comes a day after the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals turned down DIC's petition for an injunction to prevent Oaktree's Chapter 11 plan.

The financial crisis in Greece is best understood by looking at the hard numbers, The Wall Street Journal reported in a commentary. Over the next five years, Athens has to raise €240 billion, roughly the country's current gross domestic product. Of that amount, €150 billion is to pay down the principal owed on maturing bonds. The rest is interest. This illustrates why the euro-zone offer of a €30 billion standby credit facility is just a drop in the bucket compared to Greece's overall cash requirements.

Forest Enterprises Australia Ltd (FEA) has entered voluntary administration, with the troubled timber plantations operator bemoaning a supposed lack of patience among its bankers, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on an Australian Associated Press story. FEA, which had expected to report an operating loss for the half year ended December 31, 2009, said on Wednesday that its revenue over the past 18 months had been hurt by the impact of the global financial crisis on markets for forestry investment, timber and export wood fibre.

Grupo Corporativo Ono SA, Spain’s biggest cable television operator, got approval from lenders to restructure €3.5 billion ($4.8 billion) of loans, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. Holders of more than 80 percent of the debt agreed to the terms, which include delaying loan repayments to 2013, the Madrid-based company said today in a statement. Ono changed the terms of the loans as the worst recession in Spain in six decades eroded prospects for growth in the cable market.