/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/130904.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R E U R O P E Wednesday, September 4, 2013, Vol. 14, No. 175 Headlines B U L G A R I A BDZ: Unlikely to Report Profit; Creditor Talks to Continue I R E L A N D ANGLO IRISH: Art Collection Put Up for Sale AVONDALE SECURITIES: S&P Removes CreditWatch Neg. on BB+ Ratings I T A L Y ALITALIA SPA: Taps Gruppo Banca to Advise on Fund Revamp K A Z A K H S T A N EURASIAN NATURAL: Moody's Lowers CFR to 'B2'; Outlook Negative L I T H U A N I A BANKAS SNORAS: BIG Group to Acquire Snoras Media P O L A N D * POLAND: Corporate Bankruptcies Down 33% in August S P A I N BBVA-6 FTPYME: Fitch Affirms 'C' Rating on EUR32.3MM Cl. C Notes S W E D E N ARKIVATOR MACHINE: AQ Enclosure Acquires Assets U N I T E D K I N G D O M BUCKIE SHIPYARD: Enterprise Minister to Visit Shipyard CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Faces GBP3.6-Bil. Loan Portfolio Deficit CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Faces Criticism From Group of US Hedge Funds WHITE TIGERS: Freed From Administration X X X X X X X X * Banks Face New Set of International Capital Rules ********* =============== B U L G A R I A =============== BDZ: Unlikely to Report Profit; Creditor Talks to Continue ---------------------------------------------------------- Novinite.com reports that Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) will not go bankrupt, but it is hardly likely to report a profit. According to Novinite.com, in a Tuesday interview, BDZ Holding Executive Director Hristiyan Krastev, as cited by the BGNES news agency, was adamant that the bankruptcy scenario for BDZ Holding had been avoided. He noted, however, that BDZ Holding was hardly likely to report a profit because one of the units, BDZ Passenger Services, was a subsidized company, Novinite.com notes. "Talks with creditors continue, the experts are now in Brussels, and next week, the creditors will return to Sofia. We are negotiating about a deferred payment scheme so that the bankruptcy of BDZ can be avoided," Novinite.com quotes Mr. Krastev as saying, adding that the sides were likely to reach agreement in a few weeks' time. The Executive Director of Holding BDZ was adamant that the creditors had no interest in the company going bankrupt and they wanted to get their money back, Novinite.com relates. Established in 1885, The Bulgarian State Railways, commonly known as BDZ, is Bulgaria's state railway company and the largest railway carrier in the country. The company's headquarters are located in the capital Sofia. ============= I R E L A N D ============= ANGLO IRISH: Art Collection Put Up for Sale ------------------------------------------- Jamie Smyth at The Financial Times reports that Ireland's largest liquidation sale was set to begin yesterday in earnest when the art collection of the former Anglo Irish Bank was set to go under the hammer at Adam's fine arts auctioneers in Dublin. The modest corporate collection was expected to fetch up to EUR200,000 -- a tiny fraction of the EUR30 billion that the bank is expected to cost Irish taxpayers following its collapse, the FT says. But it paves the way for the sale of the bank's property, corporate and mortgage loan books, which were originally worth EUR22 billion, the FT notes. The sale will have consequences for National Asset Management Agency, Ireland's state-owned bad bank, which will assume ownership of any unsold loans, and ultimately for taxpayers, the FT states. It will also test investor appetite for Irish assets as the country prepares to exit its international bailout in December, according to the FT. "There is fantastic global interest from different continents in the assets for sale," the FT quotes Kieran Wallace, the KPMG liquidator appointed by the Irish government, as saying. "Private equity, sovereign wealth funds, people in the same sectors looking at acquisitions, individuals -- all types of people are interested." Liquidator KPMG is dividing the loans into four portfolios, the FT discloses. The first to come to market in mid-September is "Project Evergreen", the FT notes. The loans have a par value of EUR3.5 billion, the FT discloses. UBS is advising KPMG on the Evergreen sale, the FT says. According to the FT, to prevent a "fire sale" of the assets, Dublin has directed that NAMA become the backstop buyer of the loans. If private bidders do not meet a minimum sale price set by the independent valuers of the loans, PwC and UBS, the loans will transfer to the bad bank, the FT states. About Anglo Irish Anglo Irish Bank was an Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It went into wind-down mode after nationalization in 2009. In July 2011, Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, with the new company being named the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it lowered its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Irish Bank Resolution Corp. Ltd. (IBRC) to 'D/D' from 'B-/C'. S&P also lowered the senior unsecured ratings to 'D' from 'B-'. S&P then withdrew the counterparty credit ratings, the senior unsecured ratings, and the preferred stock ratings on IBRC. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'BBB+' issue rating on three government- guaranteed debt issues. The rating actions follow the Feb. 6, 2013, announcement that the Irish government has liquidated IBRC. AVONDALE SECURITIES: S&P Removes CreditWatch Neg. on BB+ Ratings ---------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed and removed from CreditWatch negative its 'BB+ (sf)' credit ratings on Avondale Securities S.A.'s class A-1 and A-2 notes. This follows the same action taken on the support sponsor, Bank of Ireland (BOI), on Jan. 20, 2012. Standard and Poor's said, "Our ratings on Avondale Securities' class A-1 and A-2 notes are weak-linked to our long-term rating on BOI due to a support agreement. This agreement obligates BOI to meet, under certain conditions, payments due on the notes, and potential tax liabilities, as well as its servicing of the policies." According to Standard and Poor's, on Jan. 20, 2012, it affirmed and removed from CreditWatch negative its 'BB+' long-term counterparty credit rating on BOI. "Due to an error, we did not affirm and remove from CreditWatch negative our ratings on Avondale Securities' class A1 and A2 notes following our corresponding rating actions on BOI," noted S&P. S&P said, "We have corrected this error by affirming and removing from CreditWatch negative our 'BB+ (sf)' ratings on Avondale Securities' class A1 and A2 notes, which are now in line with our long-term rating on BOI." RATINGS LIST Avondale Securities S.A. EUR400 Million Floating-Rate Emergence Offset Notes Ratings Affirmed and Removed From CreditWatch Negative A-1 BB+ (sf) BB+ (sf)/Watch Neg BB+ (sf) (SPUR) BB+ (sf)/Watch Neg (SPUR) A-2 BB+ (sf) BB+ (sf)/Watch Neg SPUR - Standard & Poor's Underlying Rating. ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA SPA: Taps Gruppo Banca to Advise on Fund Revamp -------------------------------------------------------- Andrea Rothman and Tommaso Ebhardt at Bloomberg News report that Alitalia SpA has hired Gruppo Banca Leonardo to help raise hundreds of millions of euros before the end of this year as the biggest Italian airline embarks on a new strategy aimed at ending operating losses in 2014. Alitalia said in a statement on Monday that Milan-based Leonardo is due to report back on preliminary talks with banks at a board meeting scheduled for later this month, Bloomberg relates. Alitalia's industrial plan through 2016, published July 7, outlined a need to boost financial resources by EUR300 million (US$395 million) this year, Bloomberg discloses. According to Bloomberg, the Rome-based company also aims to garner EUR55 million in convertible loans from investors, after seeking to raise EUR150 million earlier this year. Established after Italian regional operator Air One SpA absorbed assets of the old Alitalia after that airline went bankrupt in 2008, the company's loss widened to EUR280 million last year amid a squeeze from low-cost carriers and high-speed train operators, Bloomberg recounts. The new strategy places more emphasis on inter-continental routes, with development of the long-haul fleet, together with alliances with domestic rail rivals, Bloomberg says. About Alitalia Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana has navigated its way through a successful restructuring. After filing for bankruptcy protection in 2008, Alitalia found additional investors, acquired rival airline Air One, and re-emerged as Italy's leading airline in early 2009. Operating a fleet of about 150 aircraft, the airline now serves more than 75 national and international destinations from hubs in Fiumicino (Rome), Milan, Turin, Venice, Naples, and Catania. Alitalia extends its network as a member of the SkyTeam code-sharing and marketing alliance, which also includes Air France, Delta Air Lines, and KLM. An Italian investor group owns a majority of the company, while Air France- KLM owns 25%. =================== K A Z A K H S T A N =================== EURASIAN NATURAL: Moody's Lowers CFR to 'B2'; Outlook Negative -------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the corporate family rating of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation plc to B2 from B1 and the company's probability of default rating to B2-PD from B1-PD. Concurrently, Moody's has downgraded the provisional rating on ENRC's US$3 billion euro medium-term note (EMTN) program to (P)B2 (LGD3, 48%). The rating outlook is negative. Given the recent and forthcoming developments in the ownership structure of ENRC in connection with the takeover offer supported by the founding shareholders of the company and the Kazakh Government via a buyout vehicle ('Bidco'), and the fact that the Kazakh Government has already increased, via Bidco, its indirect shareholding in the Company above 20%, Moody's now considers ENRC as a Government-Related Issuer ('GRI'). As such, ENRC's CFR reflects also the application of Moody's rating methodology for GRIs. In accordance with Moody's GRI methodology the B2 CFR of ENRC reflects the combination of the following inputs: Baseline Credit Assessment ('BCA') of b2; The local currency debt rating of the Government of Kazakhstan of Baa2 with positive outlook; Default Dependence: Very High; Support: Low. "Our downgrade of ENRC's CFR to B2 reflects its weak BCA owed to our expectation that the deteriorating trend in ENRC's credit profile, which began in 2012 and worsened in the first half of 2013, will accelerate further as a result of the large amount of debt which is being used to fund the takeover offer, and which will need to be supported by ENRC's cash flows, after the takeover offer is completed -- an event Moody's assumes will occur within the next few months, following the already high acceptances received by Bidco, which, if Moody's includes the irrevocable commitment of Kazakhmys (unrated) to tender to Bidco its 26% stake in ENRC, will leave it close to 95%", says Gianmarco Migliavacca, a Moody's Vice President - Senior Analyst and lead analyst for ENRC. This rating action concludes the review of ENRC initiated by Moody's on April 25, 2013. ================= L I T H U A N I A ================= BANKAS SNORAS: BIG Group to Acquire Snoras Media ------------------------------------------------ Bryan Bradley at Bloomberg News reports that Bankas Snoras bankruptcy administrator Neil Cooper said BIG Group UAB, a subsidiary of Fragrances International UAB, agrees to buy 100% of Snoras Media UAB pending approval of Lithuania's competition council. According to Bloomberg, Mr. Cooper said details of the sale are to be made public after completion. Mr. Cooper said that Snoras Media is the largest shareholder of Lithuanian media group Lietuvos Rytas UAB, with a 34% stake. Lietuvos Rytas owns country's biggest newspaper Lietuvos Rytas, news portal lrytas.lt, TV station and printing house, Bloomberg notes. Fragrances International and BIG Group, its wholly owned subsidiary, are both based in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Bloomberg says, citing the company registry. About Bankas Snoras Bankas Snoras AB is Lithuania's fifth biggest lender. Snoras held LTL6.05 billion in deposits and had assets of LTL8.14 billion at the end of September. It competes with Scandinavian lenders including SEB AB, Swedbank AB (SWEDA), and Nordea AB. It also controls investment bank Finasta and Latvian lender Latvijas Krajbanka AS. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Dec. 2, 2011, The Baltic Times, citing LETA/ELTA, said Vilnius District Court accepted the application regarding the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings against Snoras bank. The Bank of Lithuania delivered application on Snoras bankruptcy on Nov. 28, 2011. The TCR-Europe, citing Bloomberg News, reported on Nov. 28, 2011, that Lithuania's central bank said that Snoras' financial situation is "worse than previously identified" and saving the bank "would cost significantly more and would take longer than the available liquidity" at Snoras. Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas said at a news conference on Nov. 24 that some LTL3.4 billion (US$1.3 billion) in assets are missing, according to Bloomberg. =========== P O L A N D =========== * POLAND: Corporate Bankruptcies Down 33% in August --------------------------------------------------- Warsaw Business Journal, citing a monthly report compiled by Euler Hermes, reports that sixty-six companies filed for bankruptcy in August, 33% fewer than in July, when as many as 98 firms went out of business. According to WBJ, out of the ten largest companies which went bankrupt, six were construction companies and two were metal elements warehouses, which are closely tied to the construction industry. Altogether 647 companies have gone belly-up since January, which is more than in the corresponding period last year, when 623 companies went under, WBJ discloses. According to WBJ, economists, however, say that there is no cause for alarm, as many of these bankruptcies were the product of poor decision- making in the past several years, and not a reflection on the current market conditions. In fact, Euler Hermes' report showed that 85% of these companies had an alarmingly poor performance for several years before they folded, WBJ notes. For instance, companies from the construction industry suffered significant losses caused by poor investments made during the Euro 2012 preparations, WBJ states. The companies which went bankrupt in August employed 2,000-3,000 people and their joint revenues exceeded PLN1 billion, WBJ says. ========= S P A I N ========= BBVA-6 FTPYME: Fitch Affirms 'C' Rating on EUR32.3MM Cl. C Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has upgraded BBVA-6 FTPYME, FTA's notes, as follows: EUR33.8m Class A1 (ISIN ES0370460000): upgraded to 'A-sf' from 'BBB+sf'; Outlook Stable EUR56.5m Class A2(G) (ISIN ES0370460018): upgraded to 'A-sf' from 'BBB+sf'; Outlook Stable EUR50.3m Class B (ISIN ES0370460026): affirmed at 'CCCsf'; revised RE to 40% from 80% EUR32.3m Class C (ISIN ES0370460034): affirmed at 'Csf'; RE 0% Key Rating Drivers The upgrade of the senior notes reflects the increase of their credit enhancement from 22% to 34% since the last review in September 2012. This has been enabled by the amortization of the class A1 and class A2(G) notes, which currently represent 2.8% and 26.24% of their initial balances, respectively. The amortization of the class A2(G) notes is supported by roughly EUR18 million that has been drawn from the state guarantee at the time of the review. As the reserve fund has been depleted since 2009, a principal deficiency ledger has built up, which now represents EUR28 million taking into account the outstanding drawn amount under the state guarantee. The overall performance has been stable over the past year. Loans delinquent over 90 days represent 3.8% of the outstanding balance and over 180 days 2.97%. In absolute terms 90 plus day delinquencies decreased, whereas 180 plus day delinquencies increased, indicating that the 90 plus arrears rolled over to the 180 days arrears. Current defaults increased by EUR4 million to EUR58 million. The weighted average recovery rate has hardly increased since the review and stagnated at its current level of 35%. The uncertainty related to the timing of incoming recoveries and their amounts prevented a further upgrade. Low recoveries have also led to the reduction of the Recovery Estimate on the class B notes to 40%. Rating Sensitivities Fitch included stress tests in its analysis to determine the transaction's sensitivity to a change in the underlying assumptions. The first stress test addressed a reduction of the recovery rate by 25%, whereas the second stress test simulates an increase in default probabilities by 25%. The results suggest that in either scenario a downgrade of the senior notes could be triggered. Due to the transaction's exposure to BBVA (BBB+/Negative) as servicer, payment interruption is a risk if BBVA ceases to exist. As a consequence, the transaction's ratings are capped at 'Asf'. =========== S W E D E N =========== ARKIVATOR MACHINE: AQ Enclosure Acquires Assets ----------------------------------------------- AQ Enclosure Systems AB on Sept. 2 signed an agreement with the trustee in bankruptcy to acquire the assets of Arkivator Machine Systems AB, which was filed for bankruptcy August 14, 2013. The transaction will be made as a cash transaction. Arkivator Machine Systems is a supplier of machines for the packaging industry and is involved all steps from product development, through prototype to serial production, field support and after sales services. The company has had an annual turnover of about 140 MSEK. The operations will be taken over on Sept. 4 and it will continue in AQ Enclosure Systems AB in the current location in Falkoping, Sweden. "The acquisition is made to broaden AQ's customer relations and to gain competence in development and manufacturing of complete packaging machines. AQ Enclosure Systems, with operation in Vaggeryd and Falkoping, will become a world class system supplier to demanding customers" says Claes Mellgren, CEO of AQ. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BUCKIE SHIPYARD: Enterprise Minister to Visit Shipyard ------------------------------------------------------ BBC News reports that Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing is to visit a Moray Firth shipyard which went into administration, to discuss ways of keeping skilled workers in the area. A total of 68 out the 74 staff at Buckie Shipyard were made redundant last month, according to BBC News. The report relates that the administrators hope the historic business can be saved. Recent clients include the RNLI and the Ministry of Defence. Mr. Ewing said ahead of Monday morning's visit: "Our foremost concern is with the affected workforce," the report notes. The shipyard, which dates back to 1903, had also diversified into the offshore wind industry. CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Faces GBP3.6-Bil. Loan Portfolio Deficit ----------------------------------------------------------- Harry Wilson at The Telegraph reports that Co-op Bank is facing a GBP3.6 billion gap between the value it places on its loan portfolio and what they would be worth if it had to offload the book. According to The Telegraph, the struggling lender downgraded the "fair value" of its loan book by GBP4.2 billion between the end of last year and June, wiping nearly 13% off the value of its GBP29 billion portfolio. Cutting the value of its loans means the difference between the assumed market price of the loans and the "carrying value" of what the bank reckons them to be worth has reversed from a GBP37 million credit to a GBP3.6 billion deficit in just six months, The Telegraph discloses. The Telegraph relates that in the notes to its latest accounts, the Co-op said the change came after the bank "reviewed and improved the methods used to calculate the fair values". In the same accounts last week, the Co-op Bank revealed a GBP496 million write down of its assets. However, the lender has warned that further provisions for bad debts are likely, The Telegraph recounts. Co-op Bank bondholders have become concerned in the deterioration in the lender's business, pointing out that large new losses on the loan book could destroy large amounts of the new capital it is attempting to raise, The Telegraph states. The bank is trying to raise GBP1.5 billion to recapitalize itself with an "exchange offer" that will see bondholders contribute GBP500 million through haircuts in the value of their investments, The Telegraph says. Co-op Bank -- part of the mutually owned food-to-funerals conglomerate Co-operative Group -- traces its history back to 1872. The bank gained prominence for specializing in ethical investment. It refuses to lend to companies that test their products on animals, and its headquarters in Manchester is powered by rapeseed oil grown on Co-operative Group farms. Founded in 1863, the Co-op Group has more than six million members, employs more than 100,000 people and has turnover of more than GBP13 billion. * * * As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on May 13, 2013, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the deposit and senior debt ratings of Co-operative Bank plc to Ba3/Not Prime from A3/Prime 2, following its lowering of the bank's baseline credit assessment (BCA) to b1 from baa1. The equivalent standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) is now E+ from C- previously. CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Faces Criticism From Group of US Hedge Funds --------------------------------------------------------------- Sharlene Goff at The Financial Times reports that a group of US hedge funds has criticized the Co-operative Bank as "irresponsible" for refusing to engage with them ahead of a crucial debt restructuring aimed at securing the future of the struggling mutual lender. Moelis & Company, the investment bank acting for a consortium of bondholders including US hedge funds Aurelius Capital Management and Silver Point Capital, hit out at the mutual after it revealed it would only formally negotiate with bondholders once it had finalized the terms of a GBP1 billion debt exchange later this year, the FT discloses. The exchange is the critical element of the Co-op's plans to fill a GBP1.5 billion capital hole caused by mounting losses on loans, the FT notes. Bondholders will be forced to take haircuts on their investments as part of the move to convert existing debt into equity and new bonds, the FT discloses. They are expected to contribute about GBP500 million, with the other GBP500 million coming from the Co- op Group, the FT says. Caroline Silver, a managing director at Moelis, told the FT: "The bondholders we advise are determined to see Co-op Bank placed on a strong financial footing by the end of this year as required by the regulator. "There are commercially reasonable ways to achieve this goal, but these require bondholder co-operation, which has consistently been offered. It would therefore strike us as irresponsible for the bank's officers and directors to refuse to engage with bondholders and to waste time putting together a unilateral, take-it-or-leave-it offer." Last week, Euan Sutherland, chief executive of the Co-op Group, said the mutual would formally engage with bondholders once it had set out the details of the exchange, which will be published along with a plan for reshaping the banking division, at the end of October, the FT recounts. "While we recognize the concerns of these professional investors in the bank's bonds, we believe that our plan . . . is in the long term interests of the wider stakeholders in the group and the bank. We are currently preparing the prospectus enabling the bank to float and will, of course, be happy to engage formally with all affected bondholders and preference shareholders at the right time," the FT quotes the Co-op as saying on Monday. Bondholders have been pushing for a large stake in the newly issued Co-op Bank equity, the FT states. Aurelius and Silver Point own part of the GBP1 billion of lower- tier 2 bonds involved in the exchange. Thousands of smaller retail investors that hold lower ranking securities are also braced for heavy losses, the FT discloses. Mr. Sutherland has stressed there is "no Plan B" if the Co-op fails to gain bondholder support for the exchange, the FT notes. Co-op Bank -- part of the mutually owned food-to-funerals conglomerate Co-operative Group -- traces its history back to 1872. The bank gained prominence for specializing in ethical investment. It refuses to lend to companies that test their products on animals, and its headquarters in Manchester is powered by rapeseed oil grown on Co-operative Group farms. Founded in 1863, the Co-op Group has more than six million members, employs more than 100,000 people, and has turnover of more than GBP13 billion. * * * As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on May 13, 2013, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the deposit and senior debt ratings of Co-operative Bank plc to Ba3/Not Prime from A3/Prime 2, following its lowering of the bank's baseline credit assessment (BCA) to b1 from baa1. The equivalent standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) is now E+ from C- previously. WHITE TIGERS: Freed From Administration --------------------------------------- Andy White at The Non-League Paper reports that financial problems forced the White Tigers into administration last September and the club looked as though it would be thrown out of the Blue Square Bet South for not paying a GBP50,000 bond to the Football Conference. However, businessmen Peter Masters and Philip Perryman bailed the Dorset club out, paying the bond and later purchasing the club in December 2012, according to The Non-League Paper. The report notes that the City were relegated from the Conference South last season after finishing 20 points adrift of safety, half of which were down to the 10-point penalty the club incurred for going into administration. Masters and Perryman agreed a Company Voluntary Arrangement with the club's creditors in June this year, allowing them to pay off debts of GBP80,000 over the course of three years, the report relates. This CVA enabled the club to take its place in the Southern League Premier Division for 2013/14 and they have made a reasonable start to the campaign, winning once, losing once and drawing three times, the report says. "I am pleased to report that both Philip and I have received the formal notice to the effect that the Administration of Truro City Fooball Club Limited has been brought to an end. . . . This effectively draws a line under this avoidable affair in the club's history and serves as warning for the future to us all . . . . You need no reminding that as well as costing the two of us many thousands of pounds and a substantial amount of time the club has damaged its reputation, suffered relegation from the Conference South and lost the ownership of the stadium at Treyew Road . . . . It has to be said however unpalatable it may be to those involved that this was brought about by officials during that time (and leading up to it) that were blinded but frankly should have known a lot better . . . . It now leaves us all to rebuild the club to a sustainable level which is ultimately decide on what League we play in," the report quoted Mr. Masters, chairman at Treyew Road, as saying. =============== X X X X X X X X =============== * Banks Face New Set of International Capital Rules --------------------------------------------------- Brooke Masters and Chris Giles at The Financial Times report that banks face being hit with a new set of international capital rules aimed at forcing bondholders rather than taxpayers to bail out failing institutions. Global regulators are seeking support from world leaders to draw up proposals to force banks to hold a minimum amount of debt that can be "bailed in" if a bank collapses, the FT says. According to the FT, Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor who is heading global efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, said the move was a necessary component in the "ambitious" desire of the Group of 20 nations to stop the most important banks from being "too big to fail". As chairman of the Financial Stability Board, Mr. Carney was seeking to win political backing for regulators to draw up more concrete plans at this week's G20 summit in Russia, the FT states. But even with agreement, he said the process of protecting countries from "too big to fail" banks would still take a long time and could not be completed until 2015 at the earliest, the FT notes. To ensure failed banks did not need to be bailed out by taxpayers, those which are deemed to be globally important banks are likely to be asked to ensure their capital structures offer taxpayers sufficient protection with high levels of potential loss absorption, according to the FT. Individual banks may also be forced to make substantial organizational changes, while regulators will probably have to sign unprecedented co-operation agreements in which they promise to respect each other's decisions about inflicting losses on shareholders and creditors, the FT says. Mr. Carney, as cited by the FT, said that both the US and EU have made progress towards a legal framework that would make it possible to shut down or break up a failing cross-border bank. But he added that they were a long way from being ready to deal with an actual problem, the FT says. The EU, the UK and the US are all working on different schemes to protect their local economies from failing global banks, including the ringfencing of retail banking in the UK and local capital requirements for branches of overseas banks in the US, the FT discloses. The "bail-in-able" debt requirement would come on top of the core tier one capital that banks already have to hold as part of Basel III global reforms, the FT states. ********* Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per share in public markets. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each Thursday's edition of the TCR. Submissions about insolvency- related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.com Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book of interest to troubled company professionals. All titles are available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com. Go to http://www.bankrupt.com/booksto order any title today. ********* S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter-Europe is a daily newsletter co- published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA. Valerie U. Pascual, Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante, Ivy B. Magdadaro, Frauline S. Abangan and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$775 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter Chapman at 215-945-7000 or Nina Novak at 202-241-8200. * * * End of Transmission * * *