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.

A former Goldman Sachs banker charged with helping to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund will go on trial in the United States next week, in a case that could shed light on how the bank responded to warnings of corruption, Reuters reported. Roger Ng, Goldman's former investment banking chief in Malaysia, will be the first - and likely only - person to stand trial in the United States over one of the biggest financial scandals in Wall Street history.

President Nayib Bukele’s unorthodox policies -- from ousting top court judges to trading Bitcoin on his phone with public money -- have heightened the nation’s perceived riskiness for investors and ratings agencies, Bloomberg News reported. “The weakening of institutions and concentration of power in the presidency have increased policy unpredictability, and the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender has added uncertainty about the potential for an IMF program that would unlock financing for 2022-2023,” Fitch said in its statement.

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.

The Canadian Debtors Association is calling on all parties in the credit, debt and insolvency industry to work together and modernize Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) to help Canadians in financial difficulty, according to a press release. "A core principle of Canada's insolvency legislation and policy is to provide a "fresh start" for people who are overwhelmed by debt," says Canadian Debtors Association President and CEO Henrietta Ross. "This principle is widely accepted by legislators, stakeholder groups, academics and insolvency experts.

Canada's economy does not need more stimulus, but rather more investment from both government and businesses to build up supply capacity to meet strong consumer demand, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Macklem, when asked in an audience Q&A session if government should be spending billions to further stimulate the economy, said Canada is already in the midst of a consumer-led recovery, and more capacity investment is needed to sustain that. "To sustain a strong consumer-led recovery, you need investment," he said.

Canada posted a surprise trade deficit in December, as imports hit a new record high and exports fell from November, official data showed on Tuesday, but economists expect an export rebound in January on surging energy prices, Reuters reported. Canada's trade deficit was C$137 million ($108 million) in December, well below analyst forecasts of a surplus of C$2.50 billion. November's surplus was also revised down to C$2.47 billion from C$3.13 billion, still good for a 13-year record.

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.

Jury selection is expected to begin on Monday in the U.S. corruption trial of a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of involvement in the looting of billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, Reuters reported. Roger Ng, Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to violate an anti-bribery law and launder money in connection with the alleged looting of billions of dollars from the fund.