According to S&P Global fixed income research, EUR 3.7 trillion of rated European company debt is due to mature between mid-2017 and the end of 2022.This gives rise to anticipation that, in the coming years, the European financial markets will be increasingly driven by refinancing, restructuring and investment in distressed assets. Respondents to the survey “Changing tides: European M&A Outlook 2017” prepared by CMS in cooperation with Mergermarket in September 2017 have also remarked on this trend.
On 27 July 2016, the Board of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) analysed the status of the Romanian insurance undertaking Carpatica Asig SA, considering several audit and assessment reports. The outcome of the FSA analysis was the commencement of the bankruptcy procedures against Carpatica Asig SA.
On 14 April 2014, the Official Gazette published Order 562 of 1 April 2014 for the amendment of and supplement to Order 235 of 2001 regarding the insurance of tourists against the insolvability or bankruptcy of travel agencies (“Order 562/2014”).
A new electronic database of bankruptcy and liquidation petitions, open to any company, is being set up by the National Judicial Office.
This will enable any company to obtain a certificate showing whether it has had a bankruptcy or liquidation petition filed or liquidation proceedings initiated against it (but in each case not yet finally decided).
The introduction of the database and certificate system into the Bankruptcy Code is the result of concerted lobbying by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and CMS Budapest Office.
On 18 January 2013 the Law of Ukraine on Introducing Changes to the Law on Restoring Debtor Solvency or Declaring Bankruptcy (the “New Bankruptcy Law”) became effective. The new Bankruptcy Law introduces a number of important changes to the bankruptcy procedure in Ukraine.
The Government Ordinance no. 10/2004 on the bankruptcy of credit institutions has been recently amended by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 12/2012, published in the Official Journal no. 593 dated 20 August 2012.
The amendment refers to the order of distribution of the bankruptcy proceeds and repeals the former article regarding subordinated claims, insofar as such claims referred to loans made by shareholders holding more than 10% of the share capital of the bankrupt credit institution.
In the last week of January, the Czech Government passed an amendment to the Insolvency Act, which was prepared by the Ministry of Justice. The aim of the amendment is to respond to the growing widespread practice of the filing of unjustified insolvency petitions by creditors. The amendment intends to allow courts to reject such petitions.
On 22 September 2011, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 3795-VI “On Amendments to Several Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding the Regulation of Legal Relations between Creditors and Receivers of Financial Services” (the “Law”). The Law, among other changes, introduced amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring Debtor’s Solvency or Recognising it Bankrupt”, No. 2343-XII, dated 14 May 1992, as amended (the “Bankruptcy Law”).
A number of changes have been made to insolvency procedure to remove various discrepancies and controversial practices:
On 16 March 2022, the Slovak Parliament approved the anticipated new act on solving threatened bankruptcy (the Act) and also amended related legislative documents. It implements the Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring, whose implementation was postponed by one year to 17 July 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act aims to reform insolvency in Slovakia and make preventive mechanisms effective enough to reduce the number of bankruptcies.
To whom does the Act apply?