The European Union (Preventative Restructuring) Regulations 2022 (the “Restructuring Regulations”) were introduced on 27 July 2022 with immediate effect.
You can read our overview of the regulations, specifically the changes they impose on the examinership process and a short overview of the changes imposed on the Companies Act 2014, here.
The so-called crypto-winter and associated high profile insolvencies of major players such as FTX, Three Arrows Capital and Genesis may have dampened enthusiasm for this new asset class in some quarters. However, while volatility is likely to be an ongoing characteristic in the short and medium term, it is probably better to view recent events as a period of market correction rather than the "beginning of the end" of crypto assets.
The future for a new class of digital assets
In the first case of its kind since Re Business City Limited ([1997] 2 BCLC 510) in 1997, and only the second ever such case, the High Court of England and Wales made an order on 5 April 2023 recognising and giving the force of law in England and Wales to a scheme of arrangement in an Irish examinership. The High Court of Northern Ireland made a similar order in the same case on 3 April 2023.
Since the Dutch Act on Court Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan (“WHOA” or “Dutch Scheme”) entered into force on 1 January 2021, Dutch Courts have rendered over 200 judgments.
On 9 March 2023, (one of) the largest Dutch Schemes so far was successfully completed: the restructuring of Royal IHC and its subsidiaries (as announced in IHC’s press release). In this case, the Rotterdam Court made several important decisions enhancing the effectiveness and legal certainty surrounding the WHOA, including regarding:
The commercial judges of Madrid publish a guidefor the appointment of an expert on insolvency pre-pack
Spanish Insolvency Law 16/2022
Key Points
Summary
Following a number of recent high-profile collapses of banks in Europe and the United States (notably, Credit Suisse, Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank), not only their investors but also their clients may be considering their position under financing arrangements and applicable insolvency law.
Here are five steps that corporate borrowers can take to protect themselves against the fall-out of their financing banks’ insolvency:
Mark Fine, Aymen Mahmoud and Sunay Radia, McDermott Will & Emery
This is an extract from the 2023 edition of GRR's Europe, Middle East and Africa Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.