Recovery and resolution scenarios are still of importance for European institutions. Banks perform functions which are critical for economic activity to take place. They collect funds (deposits and other forms of debt) from private persons and businesses, provide loans for households and businesses, allow savings to be allocated for investment and manage payment systems that are crucial for various sectors of the economy and society as a whole.
Evans v Jones [2016] EWCA Civ 660
Executive Summary
Currently in the UAE, laws related to insolvency are unclear. Companies face harsh penalties in a bankruptcy scenario, and individuals can face criminal sanctions and penal sentences. However, a new bankruptcy law drawing from international best practice is expected to come into force in early 2017, in the wake of low oil prices since 2015. With the implementation of the new law, the UAE government seeks to create a robust legal insolvency framework, within which all businesses can operate and parties can be sufficiently protected.
The Pension Protection Fund (“PPF”) has updated its approach to employer restructuring guidance and its general guidance for restructuring and insolvency professionals. These documents set out certain criteria that should be met when making proposals to the PPF in respect of a sponsoring employer suffering an insolvency event.
1. The PPF Approach to Employer Restructuring:
Summary: On 8 September 2016 Mr Justice Snowden handed down his judgment in Glenn Maud v Aabar Block Sarl & others [2016] EWHC 2175 (Ch) in which he considered how the court should deal with a bankruptcy petition where the petitioning creditor may have an ulterior purpose for seeking a bankruptcy order.
Two United States courts recently issued decisions involving the scope of the Bankruptcy Code’s safe-harbor provision in section 546(e) related to avoidance actions. In one, in the Second Circuit, the court took a broad approach to protect the financial markets, whereas the Seventh Circuit interpreted that statute more narrowly. The Supreme Court is now well-positioned to bring greater clarity to this important area of law.
The power of a bankruptcy court to authorize the sale of assets “free-and-clear” of liens and any other interests is a powerful tool that is used to realize value from distressed businesses. Indeed, purchasers will occasionally insist that sellers file a chapter 11 case in order to “cleanse the assets” by conducting their sale under Bankruptcy Code § 363(b). But how far does this power reach? Can bankruptcy be used to protect the purchaser from potential successor liability claims?
A client who is building a large mixed use development called me yesterday with a dilemma. He had received a letter from a local equipment supplier, who was on the verge of bankruptcy because the sub-contractor who had engaged him had gone into administration after the hire period had come to an end. He was pleading with my client to help him recover some £20,000 of hire fees still owed to him.
New York bankruptcy judge dismisses claims to recover approximately $1 billion that had been distributed to noteholders following commencement of the Lehman Brothers chapter 11 proceedings in September 2008.