Noble's rot isn't fatal yet. Just ask John Paul Getty

Sydney

IF YOU owe the bank US$100, that's your problem, according to a maxim attributed to famed old commodities player John Paul Getty - but if you owe US$100 million, that's the bank's problem.

That's a rare bit of good news for Noble Group Ltd, whose shares and bonds have been plunging after S&P Global Ratings warned that the company may default on its debt within a year. Noble's rotten business model may lead to its demise in the long term - but in the short term, its lenders have more to gain from forgiveness than rigidity.