Law No.  176-V "On Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy" came into effect on 25 March 2014.

The Law "On Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy" (Law) has replaced the Law “On Bankruptcy” dated 21 January 1997. The law applies to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. As with its predecessor, the Law does not apply to state owned entities, pension funds, banks, and insurance companies (for which special provision is made in the relevant legislation). 

As compared with the previous law, the Law focuses more on rehabilitation procedure.

Where lenders are lending to and taking security from companies that may become subject to special administration regimes, the value of the security may be affected and enforcement options restricted. More companies are subject to these procedures than you might think. So, how do you identify whether your borrower is subject to one of these regimes? Should you place a lower value on your security? What are your enforcement rights? Might your borrower become affected after grant of the security?

Special administration regimes

Over the last two years, with the fluctuations in the economic market, commercial real estate in distress has become a lively topic among insolvency practitioners and even in court decisions.

An Ontario Court recently confirmed that an execution creditor does not have priority over the unsecured creditors of a debtor upon the insolvency of the debtor even if the judgment creditor is then holding funds of the debtor which it has garnisheed.

In February 2008, the Superior Court of Justice – Ontario granted Cotton Ginny Inc., CG Operations Limited ("H/O"), CG Operations I Limited and CG Operations II Limited, protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

In Warren v. Warren the British Columbia Supreme Court recently appointed an equitable receiver over the assets of a judgment to debtor, notwithstanding that the Plaintiff did not have any security.

When structuring a complex debt financing, financiers need to consider whether unsecured and structurally subordinated “mezzanine” debt ought to be replaced in the capital hierarchy with secured second lien credit. The relatively lower financing cost for second lien credit is based on the assumption that the second lien lenders might obtain some equity value from the liens on the residual collateral which would not otherwise be available with such “mezzanine” debt.

There has been an upturn in the frequency of trade finance workouts, restructurings and formal insolvencies. Susan Moore and Luci Mitchell-Fry look at some key issues that banks face when trade finance lending passes to "bad bank".

The bank's decisions at every stage of a trade finance transaction are critical: at origination; when following a workout/restructuring; and once a formal insolvency process becomes a reality.

Origination

Jameson House Properties Ltd. and Jameson House Ventures Ltd. (the Jameson Companies) were incorporated to develop a 37-storey mixed-use building in downtown Vancouver called Jameson House. By 2008, after many years of planning and development, the Jameson House project was well underway.

In Brookfield Bridge Lending Fund Inc. v.

Bankruptcy practitioners and plan beneficiaries should take note of a little-known ERISA amendment that impacts bankruptcy cases filed on or after September 16, 2006. On June 30, 2008, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the "PBGC") released a proposed rule clarifying how Section 404 ("Section 404") of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the "PPA") will be implemented. Section 404 amends Title IV of ERISA in certain key respects.