Ukrainian state banks are expected to finally step up this year the sale of their voluminous non-performing loan (NPL) portfolios, which make up 45.5%-73.5% of the total loan books of the country’s top three banks, Oschadbank and Ukreximbank and PrivatBank, according to several banking sector experts and lawyers.

The Coordination Council of Belarus, recognised by the EU and the US as a body facilitating the peaceful transition of power in the country, has sent statements to international financial institutions warning that the proceeds of the country’s latest USD 1.25bn Eurobonds might have been used to fund state repressions and that the current government lacks the authority to raise further funding, according to documents seen by Debtwire.

A new type of court restructuring proceeding has been introduced in Poland as part of the COVID-19 crisis legislation: simplified restructuring proceedings available until June 2021, allowing the debtor to individually initiate the proceedings, said Karol Czepukojc and Pawel Dlugoborski, two counsels co-heading Baker McKenzie’s restructuring and insolvency practice in Poland.

Governments and regulators need to be investors' “best friend” as they face a new wave of non-performing loans, said panellists involved in NPLs in Europe, China, and globally on a webinar, The New Rise of NPLs - Strategies and Investment Opportunities in the Market, aired live yesterday (14 October) during Debtwire Week.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit the European NPL market. The first three quarters of 2020 have been the least active since 2015, with only EUR 39.2bn of deals completed across Europe, according to the new Debtwire European NPLs 3Q20 report presented at Debtwire Week.

Still reeling from the aftermath of the currency crisis in Summer 2018, Turkish corporates are poorly positioned to weather a fresh storm caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to market participants polled by Debtwire.

Newly issued Belarusian sovereign Eurobonds continue to trade with wide spreads on mounting investor concerns ahead of the 9 August presidential elections. A peaceful transition of power in the style of the 2018 Armenian ‘Velvet revolution’ is the most desirable but nearly impossible outcome for the country which has been under the strong grip of Aliaksandr Lukashenka for the last 26 years, agreed most of the experts polled by Debtwire.

European banks have been preparing for a new wave of bad loans due the COVID-19 crisis. In the first quarter of 2020, Europe's largest banks set aside more than EUR 21.5bn of provisions to cover losses from bad loans, up 207% from EUR 7bn in the same period in 2019, as they brace for a financial fallout due to the virus.

The volume of non-performing loans of Spain’s six largest banks decreased further during  1Q20, but the banks have still set aside record levels of provisions to cover losses from an expected surge in bad loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Oleg Bakhmatyuk told Debtwire he believes the revival of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of a UAH 1.2bn (USD 49.6m) stabilisation loan received by VAB Bank – a bank he previously owned that was liquidated in 2015 – is “purely politically motivated”.

The Kingdom  of Bahrain enacted a new bankruptcy law in December 2018, sweeping away its previous legislation and replacing it with a thoroughly modern toolkit. The law is a revolutionary improvement compared to what existed before, said lawyers polled by Debtwire.

When the Tower of Lethendy, a baronial-style eight-bedroom castle near Perth, Scotland, went on the market in 2015 for more than GBP 2.5m, pop icon Taylor Swift was among those rumoured to be an interested buyer.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) enacted its new Insolvency Law on 30 May, introducing internationally utilised insolvency and restructuring tools to offshore DIFC jurisdiction.

Vostochny Bank’s (Orient Express Bank) partial sale of its retail loan portfolio might not raise sufficient funds to comply with the central bank regulations and shareholder support is likely to be necessary to bolster its capital, agreed five sources polled by Debtwire. The Russia-based private bank needs to boost its capital levels by end-August to avoid a mandatory conversion of subordinated debt into equity or its principal write-down.