Our clients must be sick to death about hearing us comment on the Australian Sons of Gwalia saga (which we have been doing for more than three years) but finally there is good news to report. The short version of the saga is thatSons of Gwalia was a decision by Australia's highest court that shareholder damages claims should be treated as pari passu unsecured claims in an Australian insolvency proceeding.
There have been a number of stories about how Ambac filed for Chapter 11 on November 8. However, there’s Ambac and then there’s Ambac and then there’s Ambac. If that all sounds the same to you, we are actually referring to three different Ambacs and the purpose of this blog is to help clear up the market confusion. First there is the Ambac that filed for Chapter 11 on November 8, which is Ambac Financial Group Inc. (AFG). This must mean that the bankruptcy trigger events in the contracts of all of Ambac’s insured counterparties were triggered by the bankruptcy filing, right?
Last Thursday, a Delaware Bankruptcy Court disqualified two law firms from representing an Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors based on their conduct in soliciting proxies from creditors who were not existing firm clients. In re Universal Building Products, No. 10-12453 (Bankr. D. Del. Nov. 4, 2010), involved an extreme fact pattern but it may nonetheless have a substantial effect not only on the selection of professionals for future Committees but also on the appointment of creditors to Committees, at least in Delaware.
Most polls, political pundits, and crystal balls are predicting a larger crowd on the Republican side of the aisle after the midterm elections, potentially giving them a majority in the House and tightening the margin in the Senate. The natural question that follows is what will happen to Dodd-Frank if the composition of Congress changes significantly? Is it possible that with a Republican majority the House may seek to repeal one of the most controversial pieces of legislation enacted by the Obama administration?
On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed First Bank of Jacksonville, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed The First National Bank of Barnesville, headquartered in Barnesville, Georgia, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Progress Bank of Florida, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed The Gordon Bank, headquartered in Gordon, Georgia, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed First Suburban National Bank, headquartered in Maywood, Illinois, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision closed First Arizona Savings, A FSB, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.