Last month, the German Federal Ministry of Justice published draft legislation that could fundamentally change the restructuring landscape in Germany.
An essential part of the law is the introduction of a corporate stabilisation and restructuring regime, which establishes a comprehensive legal framework for non-consensual out-of-court restructurings in Germany on the basis of the EU's 2019 restructuring directive.
Summary
Pension scheme trustees will generally be concerned to try to ensure that the “safety net” provided by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) remains potentially available for their scheme.
On Friday 18 September 2020 the German Federal Ministry of Justice published draft legislation which has the potential of fundamentally changing the restructuring landscape in Germany.
An essential part of the law is the introduction of a corporate stabilisation and restructuring regime, which establishes a comprehensive legal framework for out-of-court restructurings in Germany on the basis of the EU Restructuring Directive of 20 June 2019 (Directive (EU) 2019/1023) (the Preventive Restructuring Framework).
Current state of play
On 26 June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) came into force. The Act included far-reaching wholescale reforms to the UK’s restructuring toolbox, including the introduction of the restructuring plan, which has the potential to be a gamechanger for restructurings.
It also included temporary measures dealing with COVID-19 impacts on companies. The two most significant temporary measures for companies facing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic were:
Summary
We reported in December 2014 that the amendments to the EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceeding (the Recast Regulation) were virtually finalised and agreed between the various legislative organs of the European Union.
Finally after several years, the debate is now over and the European Parliament has now approved the final text – broadly as it was in December 2014. The outcome is good news for cross border corporate restructurings and insolvencies around Europe, but it will not come into force for over two years.
Next steps
ITALY
BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA SpA
Monte dei Paschi di Siena (“Monte Paschi”) founded in 1472 and said to be the oldest bank in the world is, at the time of publication, in a race against the clock to raise EUR 5 billion in capital by the end of December to avoid either a state bail-out or potentially being wound down by the European Central Bank (“ECB”).
In times of financial turbulence, politicians, regulators and the media make the case for tighter controls of the markets. However, with new regulatory powers coming in and the resulting extra layer of complexity that their application brings, investors have their reasons not to put their trust in regulators. As seen with recent developments in Portugal and Italy, a number of competing motivations surround the rescue of financial institutions. The old maxim – “Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry” - may be applied to describe investor sentiment in an envir
Cadwalader partner Richard Nevins discusses developments in European restructurings with Doug Mintz, Restructuring Review's Co-Editor-in-Chief and Cadwalader Special Counsel.
In our update this month we take a look at a case in which a non-party costs order was made against a major shareholder in the insolvent claimant company. The court found that the shareholder was the real party to the litigation; it funded the litigation, it was exercising control over the litigation and it would have been the main beneficiary had the litigation succeeded. We cover this, and other issues affecting the insolvency and fraud industry:
Montpelier Business Reorganisation Ltd v Jones & Others (2017)
Background