Sweden

Swedish debt collector Intrum is asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to help reduce its debt, but will have to overcome a group of bondholders who allege it is misusing chapter 11, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. After Intrum filed for bankruptcy in Houston on Friday, creditors holding some of its bonds due in 2025 asked for the chapter 11 case to be dismissed. The bondholders say the company manufactured its bankruptcy venue by creating a U.S. affiliate last month, six days before seeking creditors’ votes on its restructuring plan, according to papers filed by the bondholders with the U.S.

The Swedish government does not plan to take a stake in battery maker Northvolt, Sweden's Minister for Energy, Business and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch told Reuters on Tuesday. The statement echoed that of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson who has also said the government does not plan to invest in the cash-strapped battery maker. "There are huge investments happening in the green transition in Sweden whether or not the Northvolt project gets fully completed or not," Busch told Reuters.

Intrum, Europe's biggest debt collector, on Friday said that it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in a bid to restructure its debt, Reuters reported. The company has struggled as the pandemic, an energy crisis and two-decade-high interest rates failed to unleash a wave of loan defaults, with concerns mounting over Intrum's net debt, which reached 49.4 billion Swedish crowns ($4.49 billion) at the end of September.

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has been discussing the possibility of bankruptcy protection in the United States as one of several options for the cash-strapped company to survive, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Northvolt has in recent months gone from being Europe's best shot at a home-grown electric vehicle battery champion to racing to stay afloat by slimming down, hobbled by production problems, the loss of a major customer and trouble raising more cash.

Sweden’s Riksbank cautioned that loosening requirements on mortgage amortization could lead to increased stability risks, pushing back against a proposal intended to make it easier for first-time buyers to enter the housing market, Bloomberg News reported. The warning from the central bank comes after a government-appointed inquiry advised that households be allowed to pay down less on mortgages exceeding 70% of the value of the home. The so-called macroprudential rules were introduced in the wake of the global financial crisis amid concern over rising house prices and ballooning debt.

Cash-strapped battery maker Northvolt AB is working on a plan to raise more than 10 billion kronor ($920 million) to continue its operations beyond the immediate horizon, according to its chief executive officer, Bloomberg News reported. “In the long term we need to secure a capitalization of somewhat north of 10 billion kronor in the coming year,” CEO Peter Carlsson told reporters after a seminar in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Sweden’s central bank lowered its key interest rate on Thursday, becoming the first central bank to do so since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president created fresh uncertainties about the global economic outlook, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.75% and said borrowing costs would likely be lowered again soon as an economic recovery seems elusive.

The crisis at Swedish battery maker Northvolt AB contributed to an historically high rate of bankruptcies last month, when the company’s main expansion project in Skelleftea went insolvent, Bloomberg News reported. A total of 821 companies went bankrupt in October compared to the monthly average of 576 over the past 10 years, according to credit reference agency Creditsafe. Several large bankruptcies were connected to Northvolt, the agency said in a statement.

Sweden’s Northvolt AB is likely to complete an expected funding round of about $300 million next week, as the troubled battery-cell maker races to get its finances on a more stable footing, Bloomberg News reported. The final steps are being drawn out because of the complex documentation needed for the deal involving customers, investors and lenders, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. While the bailout is progressing, the timeline to complete the new package may yet move, the person added.

Volkswagen AG’s truckmaking brand Scania plans to equip all its future electric trucks with Northvolt batteries, in a vote of confidence for the cash-strapped Swedish battery maker as it works to seal up a rescue package, Bloomberg News reported. “We are now shifting over. For the future, all of our currently sold battery electric vehicles will come with Northvolt cells,” Scania Chief Executive Officer Christian Levin said in a call with reporters on Monday. The volumes Northvolt is currently supplying to Scania are “satisfactory to us given the total market right now,” Levin said.