The infamous history of MF Global is closer to ending after the administrator for the bankrupt holding company filed a proposed notice of settlement that, if approved, would provide a payment of US $132 million to resolve most outstanding litigation against the company and individual former officers by certain customers and other creditors. The funds would come from insurance proceeds from policies maintained on behalf of the former officers of MF Global that were named as defendants in the litigation, including John Corizine, former chief executive officer.
The bankruptcy court overseeing the Lehman Brothers chapter 11 cases rejected efforts by Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. (LBSF) to recover roughly $1 billion in payments made to numerous noteholder defendants from the liquidation of collateral originally pledged to secure both obligations under notes issued by special purpose entities and credit default swap (CDS) obligations to LBSF, holding that the termination of the swap and liquidation and distribution of the collateral were protected by the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor.
Infrastructure & Economic Development
This briefing sets out some of the key points of the 2016 Programme for
Government, which includes a wide range of policy proposals in areas
such as infrastructure and economic development, public administration,
constitutional change, financial services, taxation and employment law and
industrial relations.
It is expected that the Government’s Legislation Programme will be
published soon, setting out the legislation that the new Government will
promote in order to give effect to the Programme for Government.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System proposed a rule that would require US global systemically important banking institutions to amend their contracts for certain common financial transactions to preclude the immediate termination of such contracts if a firm enters bankruptcy or a resolution process. Relevant contracts – termed “qualified financial contracts” – that would have to be amended include those used for derivatives, securities lending and short time financing such as repurchase agreements.
In a significant recent judgment, the High Court has set aside an extension of a protective certificate issued to a debtor under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 on the grounds of material and culpable non-disclosure by a personal insolvency practitioner.
On April 6, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rescinded Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 50-2009 entitled “Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised Depository Institutions.” The FIL, among other measures, had extended the de novo period for newly organized, state nonmember institutions from three to seven years for examinations, capital maintenance and other requirements.
The financial pressure on the oil and gas industry is well known. Dozens of oil and gas companies have defaulted on credit facilities or filed bankruptcy recently and industry observers expect many more to follow.
On February 17, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved a proposal for recordkeeping requirements for FDIC-insured institutions with a large number of deposit accounts to facilitate rapid payment of insured deposits to customers if those institutions were to fail. The proposed rule would apply to insured depository institutions with more than 2 million deposit accounts. Under the proposal, these institutions would generally be required to maintain complete and accurate data on each depositor.
On 25 December 2015 the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”) was signed into Irish law. Its purpose is to create a more rehabilitative regime for bankrupt individuals while simultaneously deterring and penalising those who refuse to cooperate with the bankruptcy or who try to conceal income or assets from creditors.
On January 21, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it was seeking comment on a revised proposed rule that would amend the way small banks are assessed for deposit insurance. The proposed rule would affect banks with less than $10 billion in assets that have been insured by the FDIC for at least five years.