Big banks have billions at risk as Steinhoff scandal deepens

Steinhoff, listed in Frankfurt and Johannesburg, has lost more than 80 per cent of its market value in the three days since the company started a probe into accounting irregularities

US and European banks and creditors, some of whom are meeting with Steinhoff International Holdings NV on Monday, are among creditors with billions in exposure to the global retailer whose asset value has plummeted amid an accounting scandal.

 
Total exposure to lenders and other creditors was almost €18 billion ($21 billion) as of the end of March. Long-term debt was €12.1 billion and short-term debt €5.87 billion, its first-half earnings statement shows. Those are the most recent Steinhoff results available after it indefinitely postponed publishing full-year financials on Wednesday.
 
“The great unknown is the funding of the off-balance-sheet structures,