Germany's beleaguered Wirecard to proceed with business after insolvency

BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - Wirecard WDIG.DE , the German
scandal-hit payments company, said on Saturday it would proceed
with business activities after filing for insolvency and expects
a provisional administrator to be appointed by judicial
authorities shortly.
"The management board is of the opinion that continuation is
in the best interests of the creditors," it said in a statement.
"Whether insolvency proceedings will be opened is still under
review."
Wirecard collapsed on Thursday owing creditors almost $4
billion after disclosing a hole in its books that its auditor EY
said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.
The insolvency filing did not include the company's Wirecard
Bank unit, which holds an estimated 1.4 billion euros ($1.57
billion) in deposits and is already under emergency management
by BaFin, the German banking regulator.
"It is being continuously reviewed whether insolvency
applications also have to be filed for subsidiaries of the
Wirecard Group," the statement said. "With the exception of a
small development branch office, no insolvency applications have
been filed by Group companies at present."
The company said its bank would continue to carry out
payments to merchants and that it was in contact with regulators
and credit card companies.
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a
number of requirements on Wirecard, including not to dispose of
any assets or funds, and not carry out any regulated activities.
The company said it was in talks with the FCA about its
Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd unit and was hopeful that it will
implement measures that allow it to resume operations.
The European Union is investigating BaFin over the collapse
of Wirecard, a rare measure that heaps embarrassment on Germany
days before it is due to take over the EU's rotating presidency.
Investors want to know why EY did not spot problems in
Wirecard's finances earlier.

($1 = 0.8915 euros)