On 26 August 2015, the Board of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) analysed the status of the Romanian insurance undertaking ASTRA SA, considering the report of the special administrator, KPMG Advisory. 

According to the FSA, on 30 June 2015, ASTRA SA had: (i) a negative available solvency margin of approximately RON 871 million (approximately EUR 197 million), (ii) a liquidity ratio of 0.03, and (iii) a capital shortage of approximately RON 968 million (approximately EUR 220 million). 

The new Act CV of 2015 on debt settlement procedure for private individuals provides an opportunity for debt settlement both outside and within the scope of a court procedure.

Major parties to the procedure:

In May 2015, the Czech Ministry of Justice submitted a draft amendment to the Insolvency Act to the Government (the “Amendment”).

As we reported in April, the Insolvency Service has issued a call for evidence inviting comments on the issues with, and improvements that could be made to, the collective redundancy consultation requirements for employers facing insolvency. The Government has been seeking views on how well the requirements work both before an insolvency practitioner has been appointed to the failing company and after a formal appointment has been made. 

Case: The joint administrators of African Minerals Limited (in administration) v Madison Pacific Trust Limited and Shangdong Steel Hong Kong Zengli Limited (HCMP 865 of 2015)

On 26 March 2015, the Deregulation Bill and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill received Royal Assent.  These Acts make a number of important changes to the law affecting directors, insolvency law and regulation. 

The changes affect (among other things) directors’ liabilities, the powers of administrators and the rights of creditors. While some changes are relevant to all those advising companies and directors, others are of interest principally to insolvency officeholders.

Case: (The Trustees of the Olympic Airlines SA Pension and Life Assurance Scheme (Appellants) v Olympic Airlines SA (Respondent) [2015] UKSC 27)

On 9 April the Polish Parliament adopted a bill implementing the so-called “second chance” policy for businesses, pursued at the EU level.

The Act introduces a clear separation between restructuring proceedings and bankruptcy proceedings. As the latter are commonly perceived as stigmatising, the initiation of bankruptcy can hinder successful restructuring. The new Act introduces four new types of restructuring proceedings, i.e.:

The Supreme Court has held that, where a company had been the victim of wrong-doing by its directors, the directors’ wrong-doing could not be attributed to the company to prevent it (or its liquidators) from bringing claims against the directors. 

The Insolvency Service has issued a call for evidence inviting comments on the issues with, and improvements that could be made to, the collective redundancy consultation requirements for employers faced with insolvency.