The Investment Bank Special Administration Regime (SAR) was introduced in 2011 in response to difficulties faced in the Lehman Brothers administration. Following a review of the regime by Peter Bloxham in 2014, and a Government consultation in 2016, the Treasury has introduced draft regulations to improve the regime - The Investment Bank (Amendment of Definition) and Special Administration (Amendment) Regulations 2017.
The Australian government is working to significantly reform Australia’s current insolvency laws by mid-2017.
The reforms are intended to achieve greater likelihood of business preservation by introducing the flexibility to achieve real turnaround of businesses in crisis.
The proposed changes include:
A GUIDE TO RESTRUCTURING ISSUES FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES AND THEIR DIRECTORS 02 | A GUIDE TO RESTRUCTURING ISSUES FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES AND THEIR DIRECTORS An increasing number of not-for-profit (NFP) entities, including those in the education and healthcare industries, are facing financial challenges that may require restructuring of existing debt loads.
In recent months, the US has seen a staggering increase in the number of retailers, both large and small, filing for bankruptcy. Among others, Dots, Alco Stores, Radio Shack, Deb Shops, Wet Seal, and Delia’s have each filed for bankruptcy protection in the past six months alone.
Understanding and managing the risks of an insolvent acquisition
OPPORTUNITY ARISES OUT OF ADVERSITY
The recent global financial crisis has seen consumers tighten their belts and the retail industry as a whole has faced increasing pressure. Profits warnings have peppered the financial pages and fashion retailers, in both the budget and luxury sectors, have been subject to formal insolvency processes.
In order to assess whether or not an insurance company is in a state of insolvency, the yardstick to be used is not the same as for any other enterprise.
Since Nortel Networks Corporation and a number of related companies (together, “Nortel”), initiated a reorganization under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) over two years ago, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (the “MOE”) has sought to hold Nortel responsible to remediate environmental contamination remaining on properties once or currently owned by Nortel. Nortel has maintained that its responsibility for the environmental contamination should not be prioritized ahead of its other obligations.
The recent crash in cryptocurrency prices has erased nearly $2 trillion in market value and forced three large firms into bankruptcy proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY): Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital, and Celsius Network.
The cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital was the first domino to fall. It suffered heavy losses on trades connected to the collapse of the Terra algorithmic stablecoin, which in turn triggered margin calls and subsequent defaults on over $1 billion in loans.
As already announced in the article of Marc Molhuysen and Olmo Weeshoff of 20 December 2021, the new Dutch pre-insolvency tool, ‘The Act regarding the binding approval of debt restructuring agreements’, widely referred to as the WHOA (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) or the “Dutch Scheme” entered into force on 1 January 2021.
The onset of COVID-19 has precipitated and accelerated substantial change for businesses in fashion retail, adding to particular headwinds already facing the sector in the UK. While many brick-and-mortar fashion retailers were already experiencing challenging trading conditions at the start of 2020 – ranging from rent and rates overheads to increased online competition – restrictions on and changes to consumer preferences resulting from the pandemic have intensified the challenges facing many fashion retailers and businesses operating in the supply chain.