Unsecured creditors, including HMRC, of collapsed mobile retailer Phones4U will see a return of just 0.4%, PwC said in its latest progress report yesterday, Economia reported. PwC, which was appointed administrator of the mobile retailer after it collapsed in September last year, said secured creditors, who own £430m of senior secured notes which were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, will receive 20% to 24% of their money, as their debt ranks higher in legal terms.

The British bank HSBC said on Thursday that it had been placed under formal criminal investigation by French magistrates examining whether its Swiss private bank assisted wealthy clients to avoid taxes, the International New York Times reported. Investigating magistrates in France have been conducting an inquiry into whether HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) helped individuals avoid their tax-reporting requirements from 2006 to 2007. In November, the Swiss private banking unit was separately placed under formal investigation.

Ireland could offer itself as a home to some of Britain’s wealthiest residents if a Labour government was elected in the UK and followed through on threats to abolish a rule which allows some people to mitigate their UK tax liability, the Irish Times reported. Labour leader Ed Miliband has declared that, if elected in the forthcoming election, he would end the regime which allows those who are resident, but not domiciled in the UK, to avoid paying tax on their worldwide income.

The UK’s five largest banks cut bonus pools by more than £1 billion last year and most also reduced pay and staff numbers, according to Financial Times analysis, potentially blunting political attacks on banker excess ahead of the general election. The sweeping changes to remuneration are revealed in figures based on the annual financial statements of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered.

Britain’s seven biggest lenders will be assessed on whether they could withstand a severe external shock including a Chinese property crash, a deep eurozone recession and the worst deflation since the 1930s, the Financial Times reported. The Bank of England on Monday presented the scenario for its second annual stress tests, which it said expanded on last year’s exercise to include more of a focus on global risks.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided to cease regulating solicitors who act as insolvency practitioners despite opposition from the profession, Accountancy Age reported. A consultation was held on SRA regulation of solicitor insolvency practitioners in November last year in which IPs were opposed to the plans. There are currently 129 solicitors operating as insolvency practitioners.

Small firms in Scotland are at risk of collapse because public bodies are withholding £120 million of debts owed to private construction companies, The National reported. According to research carried out by industry body the Specialist Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group Scotland, “little effort” is being made to ensure secondary or sub-contractors get the same treatment as primary contractors who are paid within 30 days. The primary reason for withholding the cash is to improve the public bodies’ working capital.

Beginning next October, corporate reorganization professionals in Britain are going to have do something quite amazing: At the start of a case, they are going to have to estimate what their total fees will be. And if they exceed that amount, they will have to go back to the creditors and obtain further approval, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. Various proposals have been floated to help rein in costs, like greater judicial oversight and fixed fees, but the British proposal may have hit on an intriguing idea.

Insurers, asset managers and clearing houses should be subjected to the rigours of annual stress testing just as banks are, a Bank of England official has said, the Financial Times reported. The UK already stress tests its banks by scrutinising their balance sheets to see if they can withstand a major economic blow, such as a plummet in house prices. But financial stability could be improved by extending their use to other sectors, Alex Brazier, the newest member of the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee, told a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday.

The most senior bankers running the UK operations of non-European banks are being brought under a tough new accountability regime but have been spared the ultimate penalty of jail time, the UK’s financial regulator said on Monday. The Prudential Regulation Authority announced details of how senior executives of banks outside the European Economic Area would be captured by their Approved Persons’ Regime, which was unveiled on February 23 and comes into force in March 2016, the Financial Times reported.