On Monday 14 December 2009 the Dubai Financial Support Fund received a further US$10bn from the Abu Dhabi Government to be used to satisfy a series of upcoming obligations of Dubai World and its subsidiaries (“DWG”). The monies were used in part to pay off the Nakheel sukuk which matured on the same day. The markets in the region (and elsewhere) reacted positively with significant gains and Dubai's CDS spreads narrowed. That same afternoon the Dubai Government announced a new law (Decree No. 57). Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee, said:
HM Treasury has issued a press release stating that the Government welcomes the European Commission's approval of the restructuring of the Royal Bank of Scotland and State Aid approval for the Asset Protection Scheme.
View Government welcomes approval of RBS restructuring, 14 December 2009
The FSA has released a further update on Keydata Investment Services Limited. The update reads as follows:
"On 18 November 2009 the Luxembourg financial services regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the CSSF) applied to the Luxembourg court for Eric Collard of KPMG ADVISORY s.a.r.l to be appointed as administrateur provisoire (provisional administrator) of Lifemark S.A. (Lifemark).
On 9 November, the PPF published proposals for the 2011/12 pension protection levy year which aim to improve the way the insolvency risk for sponsoring employers is assessed. The proposals reflect industry feedback and a review of methodology and insolvency probabilities carried out by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).
The key changes include:
On September 18, 2009, a number of amendments to Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) came into force. The amendments were passed in 2005 and 2007 but, aside from a few provisions that became effective in July 2008, the amendments sat dormant, awaiting proclamation into force. Pursuant to Order in Council P.C. 2009-1207, almost all of these amendments have now been brought into force. Some of these provisions will be of interest to participants in the securitization market.
DSB Bank (DSB), a small Dutch lender, has been declared bankrupt on 19 October 2009. Other Dutch banks will now have to guarantee DSB's deposits. The Dutch central bank said on 19 October 2009 that it had activated the national deposit guarantee system to deal with the bankruptcy, and that it expects eligible depositors to be reimbursed by Christmas. The banks will have to pay into the guarantee system in proportion to their market share.
The British Bankers’ Association has released the following statement on bank restructuring:
The insolvency of UK insurance companies is, fortunately, a fairly rare event. Even in the current difficult times - and despite speculation about the solvency of some insurers - we have yet to see a UK insurance company actually go into liquidation.
On 14 October 2009 the Government announced a major change to the way in which company buy-backs of debt will be taxed. The change may be relevant to any corporate debt buy-back where debt is being purchased at less than face value, including the exercise of a post-enforcement call option in a securitisation.
The global financial crisis has resulted in many loans trading at below par value. This presents borrowers with an opportunity to purchase their own debt and, therefore, extinguish the debt at a reduced cost.
On September 18, 2009, many long-awaited amendments to Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) came into force. One of these new provisions will help protect intellectual property (IP) licensees in the event of the bankruptcy of their licensors.