Greensill’s Swift Fall Was Triggered by Insurer Who Balked
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The seeds for the rapid disintegration of Lex Greensill’s empire were sown eight months ago, when a little-known Australian insurer called Bond and Credit Company decided not to renew insurance policies covering $4.6 billion in corporate loans backed by the financier’s firm.
The policies were due to lapse on March 1, prompting a last-ditch effort from Greensill’s supply-chain firm to take the insurer to court in Australia, warning that losing insurance coverage for its 40 or so clients could spark defaults and put 50,000 jobs at risk. But late on Monday a judge in Sydney struck down Greensill’s injunction, triggering a series of events that have since reverberated around the world.