Prior to the introduction of the Preventive Restructuring Framework by the StaRUG out-of-court restructurings in Germany other than the restructuring of German law-governed bonds generally required unanimous approval by all affected creditors. Existing in-court procedures were only available in case of insolvency, and entailed substantial court involvement.

The economic shock and disruption caused by the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2-Virus (COVID-19-pandemic) resulted in unprecedented circumstances for companies and prompted recent emergency rescue measures by the German legislator. In the following, we are highlighting two major legislative measures that will come into force in the next few days.

Legislative changes to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19-pandemic with respect to specific contract, corporate, insolvency and criminal law matters (the “COVInsAG”)

In view of the impending Solvency II Directive (Directive 2009/138/EC), which will be fully applied as of 1 January 2016, and the considerable changes associated with the directive, the (German) insurance landscape will not remain in its current state.

As a consequence of a recent amendment to the German insurance regulatory law, which entered into effect on 2 January 2014, infringements of certain compliance provisions applicable to insurance companies in Germany can constitute a criminal offence.