Expected interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve put "limits" on Mexico's monetary policy, Bank of Mexico Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath said on Thursday at a business summit, Reuters reported. Due to the close relationship between the U.S. and Mexican economies, the Bank of Mexico's monetary policy decisions could not go counter to those of the Fed, he said. Heath said that Mexico is currently seeing low levels of private investment, hampering an economic recovery.

Mexico’s financial industry will need to embrace transparency and accounting disclosure to rebuild the confidence of investors rattled by Credito Real SAB’s missed bond payment, according to Moody’s Investors Service, Bloomberg News reported. The non-bank lender’s failure to repay holders of 170 million in Swiss franc ($184 million) bonds last week will be a drag for market peers -- especially those that have limited financial flexibility or bondholder protection, analysts Felipe Carvallo and Luis Fernando Baza said in a report.

Coinbase Global on Tuesday said it is launching a pilot program to allow cryptocurrency recipients in Mexico to cash out their funds in pesos, a move aimed at shaking up the $700 billion global remittance market, Reuters reported. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are seen as an important way for people to send money to family and friends overseas because of the borderless nature of crypto and fewer intermediaries than traditional currency transfers.

Mexican payroll and business lender Credito Real SA B de CV said its planned refinancing of a 170 million Swiss franc bond, worth $184 million, hadn’t materialized, pointing to a possible nonpayment and restructuring ahead for the embattled shadow bank, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Credito Real has until the end of Wednesday to repay or refinance the outstanding bond, or could be deemed in default. Failure to pay would likely trigger a cross-default on other debt obligations, including the company’s dollar-denominated bonds.

Mexico raised its key interest rate by a half-percentage point for a second consecutive meeting as policy makers look past an economy in recession to address inflation near a two-decade high, Bloomberg News reported. In the first monetary policy meeting led by new Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja, the central bank raised the benchmark rate by a half point to 6% on Thursday. The increase matched the forecasts of 19 of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with three analysts anticipating a quarter-point hike.

Over the past decade, Credito Real SAB was the rising star of a booming new business in Mexico: cutting small loans -- and charging double-digit interest rates -- to the millions of traditionally unbanked all across the country. Now, with its cash hoard shrinking, Credito Real faces a moment of truth, Bloomberg News reported. It either pays off 170 million Swiss francs ($184 million) of bonds due by the end of Wednesday, or goes the way of a smaller peer in the non-bank lending industry that has already fallen into default.

Bond investors are bracing for a potential default by Mexico’s largest payroll lender, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bonds for Credito Real SA B de CV lost almost half their value in recent days over uncertainty about its ability to repay a 170 million Swiss franc bond, equivalent to $184 million, that falls due on Feb. 9. If the company misses the payment it would mark a victory for hedge-fund managers who questioned its accounting practices last year and bet bonds and share prices would drop.

Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier said on Monday the country's economy was likely to grow about 2.5% this year after being hit by the Omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic, in a blow to President Andres Manuel Lopez, Reuters reported. Mexico's economy contracted for a second straight quarter in the last three-month period of 2021, putting it in a technical recession and confirming growth had lost momentum. Overall the economy expanded 5.0% for full-year 2021 after shrinking 8.5% in 2020 in Mexico's worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Aeromexico on Friday won court approval of its restructuring plan after the airline struck a deal with the remaining holdouts among its creditors, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy with new controlling shareholders, Reuters reported. "I could not be more pleased to tell you the plan of reorganization is confirmed," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman said soon after the agreement to pay a settlement to the creditors was announced during a court hearing.

Mexican consumer lender Credito Real S.A. B. de C.V. is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to arrange rescue financing to pay down a 170 million Swiss franc ($180 million) bond coming due next month, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Credito Real, which ranks as Mexico’s largest nonbank lender, has asked Goldman Sachs to seek potential sources of new financing secured by the company’s assets to cover the coming maturity and avoid default, the people said.