Belfast’s key development sites are now “free from the burden of Nama debt” and the city is once again attracting interest from developers and investors, according to the chief executive of the city council, the Irish Times reported. Suzanne Wylie today launched a new Belfast City Council initiative which aims to attract £1 billion (€1.3bn) of new development investment for Belfast, which she believes will then help to deliver “tens of thousands of jobs”.

The failure of a Government funded events company that collapsed in 2007 with debts totalling £1.6 million represents “one of the biggest scandals” ever investigated by the North’s Public Accounts Committee, its chairperson declared Wednesday, the Irish Times reported. Sinn Fein’s Michaela Boyle said the level of scandal involved in the collapse of the now defunct Northern Ireland Events Company (NIEC) was “completely shocking” and had ultimately resulted in taxpayers in the North footing a £1.6 million bill.

Standard Chartered, an Asia-focused bank based in London, reported on Tuesday an unexpectedly large loss of $2.36 billion for 2015 after being pummeled by its exposure to emerging markets and bad loans, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. It was the latest in a series of weak performances by global banks, amid concerns over a slowing world economy. Standard Chartered also warned that more than 150 current or former executives were at risk of having their bonuses clawed back if they were found to be responsible for the bank’s poor performance.

The pay deals handed to the bosses of Britain’s biggest banks will be in focus this week when they report their results for 2015, at a time when bank shares have been hit by fears of renewed financial crisis, The Guardian reported. Investors will be scrutinising the bonuses handed out staff - it has already been calculated the major high street banks could hand out £5bn between them - and the dividends paid out to shareholders.

The UK has not abandoned its battle against an EU cap on bankers’ bonuses, including it in a list of regulations it says do not work, the Irish Times reported. The Bank of England included the bonus cap in its recent response to an EU review of rules put in place since the financial crisis. Leading the review is Lord Hill, the bloc’s commissioner for financial services, who is also a British Conservative.

Top UK regulators are trying to help three Iranian-owned banks reintegrate into the financial system after years of international sanctions — by deploying a unit designed to aid start-ups, the Financial Times reported. The UK-based Iranian lenders would be among the first beneficiaries of the just-launched unit, which allows participating banks access to services such as a helpline and case officers. The Bank of England officially reactivated the licences of the three banks — Persia International Bank, Melli Bank and Bank Sepah International — two weeks ago.

Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, faced fresh questions last night over a tax deal with Google that allowed the company to pay just £130 million in back tax on 10 years of profits estimated at £7.2 billion, the Irish Times reported. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has demanded details of the settlement, asking Mr Osborne if he or his advisers were involved in arranging it.

Brantano UK, a seller of popular shoe brands including Wrangler and Nike, has been placed under administration, just months after the High Street retailer was bought by an investor specialising in distressed retail brands, Reuters reported. The company's investors called in administrators after efforts to make it more commercially viable had failed, administrator PwC said in a statement. The move could put about 2,000 jobs at risk. Brantano UK is an out-of-town value family footwear retailer with 140 stores and 66 concessions across the UK.

The persistent plunge in oil prices has translated into a new round of industry job cuts, the International New York Times reported. The British oil giant BP said on Tuesday it would eliminate 4,000 of the approximately 24,000 positions in its exploration and production units this year. That would be in addition to about 4,000 jobs that the company cut last year, when it trimmed its work force to about 80,000. “We have to make sure we have a competitive and sustainable business,” David Nicholas, a company spokesman, said by telephone.

Small Northern Ireland businesses whose bank loans were acquired by Cerberus are receiving “unreasonable” demands from the US investment firm – in some cases, to make significant payments within a 24 or 48 hour period – Stormont politicians were informed Tuesday, the Irish Times reported. Insolvency advisers Bell & Co said many business owners with non-performing loans whom it represents were “living in fear of the receivers” because of the attitude adopted by Cerberus.