Obvious issues which come up in a cross-border insolvency context include the jurisdiction / court in which proceedings should be commenced (choice of jurisdiction), which law should be applied to resolve a particular problem (choice of law) whether the judgment of one court will be recognized and enforced in another court (recognition) and how parallel insolvency processes relating to the same debtor should interact (co-operation).

The EIR

An effective and well-equipped insolvency and restructuring regime gives confidence to investors and financiers, enabling credit to flow through to businesses and boost economic activity, growth and innovation.

On March 14, 2018 the European Commission presented the Second Progress Report on the reduction of non-performing loans (“NPLs”). The report comprises a memo and a factsheet, whose versions in English can be obtained on the website of the European Commission, which also distributed a press release (English version).

Regulation (EU) 2015/848 (the “Insolvency Regulation”) states at Recital 23 of its preamble that main insolvency proceedings can be opened in a Member State where a debtor has its centre of main interests (“COMI”). It goes on to state that those proceedings have universal scope and are aimed at encompassing all of the debtor’s assets. The Insolvency Regulation further details  at Article 3(1) that a debtor’s COMI is where the debtor conducts the administration of its interests on a regular basis which is ascertainable by third parties.

This paper addresses the issues for international recognition of reconstruction and insolvency proceedings affecting international banks raised by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, and considers what the United Kingdom and the European Union and its member states could do to address the potential loss of recognition and cooperation, as well as possible wider international initiatives. The relation of this issue to the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services is also considered.

Brexit plays a part in an application by the Joint Administrators of Nortel Networks UK Limited and others to extend the Administrators' terms of office as uncertainty lies over what, if any recognition will be given to the Administrators by the courts of the EU Member States after 29 March 2019.

DOMESTIC

Research on the impact of repossession risk on mortgage default

Terry O’Malley published an economic letter considering whether reducing the risk of repossession resulted in more Irish borrowers defaulting on their mortgages. The letter considers the impact of the ''Dunne judgment'' in 2011 which temporarily removed a bank's ability to lawfully repossess a home. One of the key findings was that borrowers defaulted on mortgages at a higher rate than if the repossession regime at the time was legally upheld.

Financial Regulation Weekly Bulletin 22 February 2018 / Issue 950 Major UK and European regulatory developments of interest to banks, insurers and reinsurers, asset managers and other market participants Selected Headlines General FinTech innovation – FCA and CFTC sign cooperation arrangement 1.1 Using technology to achieve smarter regulatory reporting – FCA launches call for input 1.2 Brexit Implementation period – DExEU publishes draft text for discussion 5.1 The impact of Brexit on wholesale financial services contracts – AFME publishes FAQs 6.1 Banking and Finance Implications of FinTec

2018 will be a year of change, challenges and opportunities for banks and financial services providers.

El pasado 28 de febrero la Comisión Europea publicó el Borrador de Acuerdo sobre la retirada del Reino Unido de la Unión Europea (“UE”).