Wie bereits berichtet erhält Deutschland ein neues Restrukturierungsrecht für Unternehmen, dessen Herzstück der sogenannte Stabilisierungs- und Restrukturierungsrahmen („SRR“) ist. Der Bundestag hat das entsprechende Gesetz am 17. Dezember 2020 verabschiedet. Am 18. Dezember 2020 wurde das Gesetz auch durch den Bundesrat gebilligt. Es wird bereits am 1. Januar 2021 in Kraft treten.

We are delighted to share with you our Financial Institutions Horizons 2021, which provides a snapshot of key legal topics and market trends across the globe, shaping the future of the financial institutions market.

UPDATE ON TEMPORARY PROVISIONS

COVID PROTECTIONS EXTENDED TO GIVE BUSINESSES A LAST CHANCE TO PLAN RECOVERY. TIME TO CONSIDER A COVID-19 CVA?

If the announcements last week on the lack of downward tier revisions for many areas is the bad news, the silver lining for the struggling and affected businesses came in the reinstatement of the temporary suspension on the use of statutory demands and winding up petitions until 31 March 2021.

In a not unexpected move with restrictions on the general public expected to remain well into the New Year the Government has extended the protections for commercial tenants and the restrictions on filing statutory demands and winding up petitions for COVID-19 related debts until the end of March 2021. The Government's announcement referred to these being the "final extensions".

In another groundbreaking decision, the Hong Kong court in Re Ando Credit Ltd [2020] HKCFI 2775, has appointed provisional liquidators over a Hong Kong-incorporated investment manager for the express purpose of allowing the liquidators to seek recognition in the Mainland. The judgment is the latest in a series of judgments facilitating cross-border recognition and enforcement of assets and takes the degree of potential cooperation envisaged to a new level.

Application unopposed

• The hospitality industry has been fighting back against the Government's lockdown measures due to the lack of financial support, but there is absolutely no doubt that the worst is yet to come as having weathered lockdown 2.0, Government policy now looks set to deny many operators the ability to trade properly in the run up to Christmas, with hard hit businesses set to miss out on circa £7.8bn of trade.
• The majority of the temporary measures introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 may have been extended, but directors remain mindful of their statutory duti

On 26 November 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Liability for Wrongful Trading and Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020 (the “Regulations”) came into force. As well as extending to 31 March 2021 the “relevant period” for certain temporary modifications to the holding of company meetings, the Regulations reintroduce the suspension of the liability for wrongful trading.

Recent missed payments by companies including by one of China's largest coal companies, Yongcheng Coal and Electricity Holding Group, based in Henan, have shaken investors' faith that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) enjoy implicit backing from the authorities, irrespective of their underlying performance. As corporates issue new bonds to pay off old debts as they fall due, thereby 'kicking the can down the road' it is feared that more defaults could follow. Yields on some bonds are reported to have risen to 34 percent, an indicator of the perceived increased risk.

Nach einer umwandlungsrechtlichen Spaltung haften die übertragende Gesellschaft und die übernehmende Gesellschaft gegenüber den Versorgungsberechtigten zehn Jahre lang als Gesamtschuldner für die Pensionsverpflichtungen. Wird eine der beteiligten Gesellschaften insolvent, hat der Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein (PSV) einen Anspruch gegen die andere beteiligte Gesellschaft, denn der Anspruch der Versorgungsberechtigten gegen die andere Gesellschaft aufgrund der Gesamtschuld geht auf ihn über.