On 23 February 2022, WBHO Australia Pty Ltd and 17 other companies in the Probuild group (Probuild, or the Group), entered voluntary administration in Australia. Probuild is one of the largest construction groups in Australia, working on many large office, residential and resources related construction projects across the country.

ASIC v King [2021] FCA 1610

Background

Regulated firms using company or insolvency law procedures to manage their liabilities could face action by the FCA if their proposals unfairly benefit them at the expense of their customers. The FCA has put forward draft guidance setting out the new role which it would have when a regulated firm proposes a compromise, what information it expects to be provided and the key factors which the FCA will consider.

On 25 January 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published draft guidance on how it will approach ‘compromises’ by regulated firms. The guidance is expressed to cover restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement and CVAs.

On 25 January 2022 the FCA published its proposals on companies that seek to manage their liabilities through the use of schemes of arrangement and restructure plans available under company law and voluntary arrangements available in insolvency law.

The FCA are seeking views on these proposals which represent a clear flexing of the FCA’s muscles in the interest of protecting customers and will clearly be of interest to company directors, their accountants and lawyers and insolvency practitioners.

A number of key decisions from the English courts in 2021 illustrate the litigation trends that are likely to have implications for the financial services industry in 2022 and beyond (see below “Cases to watch in 2022”).

Market misconduct and mis-selling

In the first of a series of claims issued by ECU Group Plc in relation to alleged wrongdoing in the foreign exchange markets by a number of banks, the High Court held that:

The FCA has issued proposed guidance on its approach to compromises by regulated firms, which will have the effect of putting consumer outcomes front and centre for any firm proposing a compromise with retail customers. With a particular focus on schemes (or other compromises) relating to redress liabilities - for instance in relation to mis-selling claims - the guidance inevitably recalls many of the aspects of the ill-conceived scheme proposed by Amigo Loans last year, which the High Court ultimately refused to sanction.

It is almost inevitable that despite the ongoing hard work by the FCA to protect customers against ruthless and reckless “investment advisors”, the number of financial scams will continue to rise over the next couple of years.

The investigation of misadvised defined benefit (DB) pension transfers has been a key focus area for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following a review which deemed many transfers were unsuitable – including the high-profile restructuring of the British Steel Pension Scheme in 2017 which left thousands of members with little time to make complex investment decisions.

With many businesses headed towards a ‘winter of discontent,’ dealing with a combination of the after effects of Covid19 related disruption, supply chain issues, soaring inflation and labour shortages, we are undoubtedly going to see a continued rise in insolvencies over the coming months which will emerge in many different and often unpredictable forms.

What could happen this winter?