In a statement, the SoftBank-backed German payment processor said it faced “impending insolvency and over-indebtedness”—an admission that saw its shares plummet 70 per cent on Thursday morning. Wirecard also issued a separate statement that said “the company’s ability to continue as a going concern is not assured” after it was unable to reach a deal with lenders over loans due on June 30 and July 1. Wirecard is the first insolvent company in Germany’s DAX 30 stock-market index, where an insolvency application provides protection from creditors. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Last fall, the company reported it was growing by 38 per cent year over year, and expanding in Asia with a US$1-billion investment from SoftBank. But its fall from grace has been swift and staggering, culminating this past week. Braun was arrested on Tuesday night as part of an ongoing accounting-fraud investigation after auditors found that US$2.1 billion had vanished from the company’s books; he was later released on bail. The company is now facing a wave of lawsuits: one attorney told Fortune that more than 12,000 Wirecard shareholders have approached his firm seeking representation. The company’s collapse has been called “a disaster for Germany as a financial hub.”