Yesterday afternoon, the House delayed a vote on H.R. 1106, “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009” (the “Act”) after a little over an hour of debate, amidst unexpected opposition from some Democrats.

Bankruptcy Court Hearing Regarding Sale of Lehman’s Investment Management Division

Changes may be coming to the Bankruptcy Code that may affect secured creditors.^[1] In 2012, the American Bankruptcy Institute established a Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 (the “ABI Commission”). The ABI Commission is composed of many well-respected restructuring practitioners, including two of the original drafters of the Bankruptcy Code, whose advice holds great weight in the restructuring community.

In an adversary proceeding filed in the American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc. bankruptcy case, the Delaware bankruptcy court affirmed that triangular setoffs are not allowed under the Bankruptcy Code and cannot be modified by contract or under the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provision. In re American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc., et al., Adv. Proc. No. 11-51851 (Bankr. D. Del. Nov. 8, 2013). Two contracts were at issue – a swap agreement between a bank and American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.

Few courts have construed the meaning of “repurchase agreement” as used in the Bankruptcy Code, so the recent HomeBanc¹ case out of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware is a must-read for “repo” counterparties. The principal issue in HomeBanc was whether several zero purchase price repo transactions under the parties’ contract for the sale and repurchase of mortgage-backed securities fell within the definition of a “repurchase agreement” in Section 101(47) of the Bankruptcy Code.

On Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision closed First Arizona Savings, A FSB, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.

On Friday, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance closed ISN Bank, headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and appointed the FDIC as receiver for the bank.

On Friday, the Georgia Department of Banking & Finance closed NorthWest Bank and Trust, headquartered in Acworth, Georgia, and appointed the FDIC as receiver for the bank.

On Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision closed Olde Cypress Community Bank, headquartered in Clewiston, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver for the bank.

Yesterday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of LBHI (the Committee) filed a complaint against JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMorgan) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.