[3] In 2018 Greensill was subject to extended media coverage and a call from British City grandee Lord Myners for a formal investigation of the company's involvement in scandal at Anglo-Swiss asset manager GAM.

[4] This investment allowed Greensill to expand quickly, increasing its employee headcount from 500 at 2019's close to over 1000 in early 2021,[5] located in sixteen offices.

[14][15] Though banks have typically conducted supply chain financing,[16][17] regulation and capital restrictions targeting them have made such loans less profitable.

Those critical of the practice generally oppose it as it can allow companies to obscure debts,[18] and encourage habitual late payments by the stronger side in a business relation.

Greensill, in turn, provided supply-chain financing to various companies backed by Softbank, in what reporters called a "circular flow of funding".

[29] In April 2024, Grant Thornton, the administrators for Greensill, published a report where they revealed that they were still owed round $587.2m (£472m) from the GFG Alliance.

[37][38] On 12 April 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered an inquiry into the collapse of Greensill and the lobbying efforts of David Cameron.

[14][45] According to the Financial Times, "Credit Suisse’s concerns about the funds came to a head because insurance policies covering defaults in a portion of its assets lapsed over the weekend.

"[45] According to The Wall Street Journal, Credit Suisse was also concerned with Greensill's large exposure to companies tied to steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta.

[46] On 1 March 2021 The Wall Street Journal reported that Greensill appointed Grant Thornton to help it during a possible restructuring or insolvency filing which was expected to happen within a few days.

[14] On 2 March Greensill Capital announced that it was considering selling the operating part of its business, according to a report by Bloomberg News, to Apollo Global Management or an associated firm, Athene Holdings.

Greensill Capital stated the firms had a "period of exclusivity with a leading global financial institution with a view to concluding a transaction with them this week," regarding the sale.

On 8 March 2021, Greensill filed for insolvency protection, as it found itself unable to repay a $140 million loan to Credit Suisse and was "hit by defaults" from Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, one of its main customers.

[51] On 15 March 2021, Bluestone Resources Inc., a coal mining company owned by West Virginia governor Jim Justice, sued Greensill for fraud.

[54] A number of German towns and cities have pulled their money from small, private banks after losing millions of euros in the closure of Greensill.