The second-largest group is thought to be Canadian bank lenders.

The 100 heaviest bank lenders have over $120 billion tied up in commercial mortgages.

Such a measure would probably increase the appeal of similar auctions to Mexico's foreign bank lenders.

The company said last night that it had informed its main bank lenders of the bookkeeping problems.

Citicorp is also the nation's largest bank lender for commercial real estate.

It usually takes bank lenders four to eight weeks to deliver a check.

Of particular concern was the position long-term bank lenders would take towards the surprise court finding.

Getting each of the company's 135 bank lenders to agree on the terms of a restructuring could take a year.

He says that some bank lenders and creditors have already indicated they are prepared to lend more money to the company.

In December 2011 a $1bn credit line to the company was frozen by its bank lenders.