28 June 2013 the Russian President signed Federal Law No. 134-FZ amending a number of laws in relation to combating illegal financial operations.
The Law amended, in particular, the Law on Banks and Banking Activity, the Anti-Money Laundering Law, the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities, the Bankruptcy Law, laws regarding certain financial organizations, and the Tax Code. Below is a summary of the key changes (save for those made to the Tax Code).
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has recently held in Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund, No. 12-2312 (July 24, 2013), a case of first impression at the Circuit Court level, that a private equity fund that exercises sufficient control over a portfolio company may be considered a “trade or business” for purposes of Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Schemes of arrangement (“schemes”) have become the restructuring tool of choice for English companies or overseas companies that have English law-governed debts.
The UK's bank regulatory and insolvency law structures were unprepared for the global financial crisis. As a result, the UK government's response to intense bank stress in the immediate aftermath of the crunch led to a number of somewhat unsatisfactory ad hoc solutions ranging from nationalisations to encouraging otherwise healthy institutions to take over weaker banks. Generally speaking, there was a criticism, fairly made perhaps, that profits were privatised and losses had been socialised.
Fundamental restructuring of insolvent companies—in any sector— is a fight for survival.
Given the global nature of the industry, it is perhaps no surprise that shipping companies and their advisors have sought appropriate court protection to alleviate creditor pressure and a possible break-up of the business where a consensual restructuring is not possible.
Introduction
The UK Supreme Court judgment in BNY Corporate Trustee Services Limited and others v Eurosail-UK 2007-3BL PLC [2013] UKSC 28 was handed down on 9 May 2013. It considered: (a) the meaning of the balance sheet insolvency test as laid out in section 123(2) of the UK Insolvency Act 1986 (the "Act"); and (b) the legal effect of a post-enforcement call option ("PECO") and, in particular, whether the existence of a PECO is relevant to an assessment of balance sheet insolvency.
AMR Corp. and its subsidiaries (collectively “AMR”), including American Airlines Inc., filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) on November 29, 2011.
On May 15, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an important opinion1 in the ongoing fraudulent conveyance litigation brought by the unsecured creditors’ committee in the bankruptcy of homebuilder TOUSA, Inc. (“TOUSA”).
PwC, the administrators in the Lehman Brothers administration in the UK, have made several applications to the Court seeking directions on their approach to the distribution of clients’ money and assets. On 29 February 2012 the Supreme Court gave judgment on issues that are central to the interpretation and application of the rules for the protection of client money made by the Financial Services Authority. The issues raised are ones that have divided judicial opinion.
German Insolvency Law – a Leap Forward
Creditors have often complained that German insolvency law does not give them sufficient influence in insolvency proceedings. On 1 March 2012 new amendments to the German bankruptcy code came into force which go some way towards ameliorating this concern and make a host of changes which should improve German insolvency law to facilitate an insolvency culture which facilitates reorganisation rather than liquidation of assets.