Greensill debacle spreads to Australia as creditors claim $1.4bn, led by Japan’s softbank

Sydney — Thirty-four creditors of Greensill Capital, the Australian parent of the collapsed British supply chain financier, submitted over A$1.75bn ($1.35bn) in claims to the company, administrators said on Friday.

About $1.15bn of that was made by Japan’s Softbank Group, a source familiar with the situation said. The source declined to be identified as the person was not permitted to speak publicly. Softbank representatives didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Grant Thornton, administrator to the Australian parent and its operating companies in the UK, also said the parent held claims of under $800m against Greensill UK.

Greensill’s Australian parent provided administration and head office support to the London-based group that collapsed earlier in March after losing insurance coverage for its debt repackaging business, but operates “only in a limited capacity”, they said.

They had also been put on notice by the Association of German Banks about a contingent liability of close to€ 2bn to the Australian parent, Grant Thornton said in an e-mailed statement.

“This claim does not appear in the company’s accounts and has not been formally verified by the administrators,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, a German court opened insolvency proceedings for Greensill Bank, owned by Greensill Capital, which was largely funded by depositors, whose deposits are protected by the bank’s membership in the deposit protection fund of the Federal Association of German Banks.

German financial regulator BaFin had locked down the obscure Bremen-based lender over concerns its debt would become unmanageable and also questioned some of its accounts.

Back in Australia, Grant Thornton said the claims submitted so far have not yet been verified and exclude claims of employees of the Australian company, 35 of which had been made redundant.

A creditors committee was appointed on Friday, including includes representatives of SoftBank, Credit Suisse, another unnamed creditor, and a representative of employees.

SoftBank is a “significant” creditor of the parent, and Credit Suisse holds security over some of its assets, according to a March 11 regulatory document.

Switzerland’s second-biggest bank and its asset management arm are reeling from the implosion of around $10bn of funds related to Greensill. It is also trying to recoup a $90m outstanding bridge loan it made to the company in 2020.

Also present at the virtual Friday meeting were the Australian taxation office, Australia’s corporate regulato;, the attorney-general’s department; and the Association of German banks.

Grant Thornton said it would provide a report to creditors in about three weeks and a second meeting of creditors would be held on April 22, at which they would vote on whether to liquidate the company or accept a restructuring proposal.

“The administrators confirmed to creditors that, at this stage, they had not received a deed of company arrangement proposal for consideration,” the statement said.

Reuters