Publicaciones de Hogan Lovells | 01 abril 2020

Algunas cuestiones de interés en relación con el impacto del COVID-19 en las financiaciones estructuradas

El impacto del virus COVID-19 está siendo significativo en todo tipo de industrias y lugares del mundo y, por consiguiente, surgen también muchas cuestiones que analizar en el ámbito de las financiaciones estructuradas.

The French government, using the powers conferred upon it by law n°2020-290 of 23 March 2020 to counter the Covid-19 epidemic urgency, adopted order n°2020-341 of 27 March 2020 in order to adapt the rules for companies in difficulty in the light of the health crisis (the “Order”).

The Order was supplemented by a circular of the Ministry of Justice n°CIV/03/20 dated 30 March 2020 (the “Circular”).

On March 25, 2020, the German Bundestag passed the “Act on Mitigation of the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Civil, Insolvency and Criminal Proceedings” (“Act”) as part of the so-called “Corona Package.” The Act passed the German Federal States’ Assembly (“Bundesrat”) in a special session on March 27, 2020, and came into force on the same day.

On 28 March 2020 the Secretary of State for BEIS, Alok Sharma, announced that changes would be made to the UK insolvency laws to help companies "…emerge intact the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic…to give them extra time and space to weather the storm and be ready when the crisis ends whilst ensuring creditors get the best returns possible in the circumstances".

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” or “Act”), a $2.2 trillion stimulus package designed to mitigate the widespread economic effects of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”). The Act includes several temporary modifications to chapter 7 and chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.^[1] This alert details these modifications as follows:

Certain Federal Payments Excluded From Definition of “Income”

The UK Government announced on Saturday 28 March 2020 that it intends to amend UK insolvency law to suspend the offence of wrongful trading by directors of UK companies and to give UK companies the breathing space to allow them to keep trading while they explore options for rescue.

Background

Current insolvency rules stipulate that directors of limited liability companies can become personally liable for business debts if they continue to trade when uncertain about whether their businesses can continue to meet their debts. These rules will be suspended.

Hogan Lovells Publications | 27 March 2020

Coronavirus FAQ: Key legal considerations for Russia

Moscow authorities strongly encourage employers to introduce remote working (work from home) regime where possible. Please make sure you carefully document the new working regime in the addenda to the employment contract or have special internal policy governing this.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic (hereafter, “COVID-19”), the closure of numerous shops and other businesses has been ordered by the authorities. Other shops and businesses are suffering losses in sales, some of them severe. As a result, many tenants will find themselves in an economic predicament and will be unable to pay their rent, at least temporarily. The question has therefore already been raised several times as to whether tenants are still obliged to pay rent during the current situation.

Does the owner bear the risk in case of bankruptcy?

Due to the tense situation in the hotel industry, various lessees are currently approaching their lessors asking for deferral or abatement of rent payments for the period ahead. There are many suggestions for possible compromises - but the insolvency law situation must always be taken into account in order not to create any risks for tenants or lessors. The comments in this article apply equally to hotel usufructuary leases.

Currently discussed compromises

Aussetzung der Insolvenzantragspflicht, Lockerung der Zahlungsverbote, Einschränkung der Insolvenzanfechtung, Ausschluss der Kündigung von Miet- und Pachtverhältnissen sowie Verbraucherdarlehensverträgen, Moratorium zu Gunsten von Verbrauchern und Kleinstunternehmen betreffend wesentlicher Dauerschuldverhältnisse, weitere Regelungen