On Monday 17 November 2014, Weil held its inaugural European Distressed Investor Conference at The Dorchester in London. A summary of the key discussion points follows.

Panel A:

Europe has struggled mightily during the last several years to triage a long series of critical blows to the economies of the 28 countries that comprise the European Union, as well as the collective viability of eurozone economies. Here we provide a snapshot of some recent developments regarding insolvency, restructuring, and related issues in the EU.

Introduction: the New Guidelines in the Context of the State Aid Modernization Program

Alert The Impending First Revision to the EU Insolvency Regulation: An Update 16 December 2014 The latest draft of the First Revision published on 20 Nov. 2014 indicates measured but extensive amendments to the EU Insolvency Regulation (‘EIR’). The most significant is the EU policy shift evidenced by the proposal to extend the EIR’s application from its currently narrow and primarily liquidation-based proceedings to a broader range of measures that are focused on rescue and that have recently been implemented in various jurisdictions.

On January 5, 2015, HM Treasury published the Bank Recovery and Resolution Order 2014 (“BRRO”) and the Banks and Building Societies (Depositor Preference and Priorities) Order 2014 (“BBSO”). The Banking Act 2009 (Restriction of Special Bail-in Provision, etc.) Order 2014 and the Banking Act 2009 (Mandatory Compensation Arrangements following Bail-in)  Regulations 2014 were published in December 2014.

1. What is the risk if a counter-party is located in an exiting member state?

In the Q1 2014 edition of Global Insight, we discussed the progress already made in respect of the Proposed Amendments to the EC Insolvency Regulation as of April 2014. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have now considered the Commission’s proposed amendments.

In this article we will continue to focus on the progress made regarding:

On 27 July 2014, the Regulation (UE) n.º 655/2014, of the European Parliament and of  the Council (the “Regulation”), establishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters was  published.

Key points

• Where main proceedings have been opened in one member state, secondary proceedings may be opened in another member state where the debtor has an establishment. The effects of the secondary proceedings shall be restricted to the assets in that territory.  
• Local law and court discretion may apply to the opening of secondary proceedings and may be exercised, but these should not be discriminatory.

The Facts

On 15 April 2014 the European Parliament voted in favour of the European Commission initiative for a Regulation establishing a European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) to simplify EU cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters. This legislation aims to establish a procedure whereby the courts of EU member states can issue orders preserving or “freezing” bank accounts across the EU without the need for any intervention by the courts of any other member state.