TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVID-19: Summary of Key Issues.................................................................................... 1
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are often asked what our clients should do if a business (such as a supplier, customer or any other contract counterparty) is suffering distress and may be contemplating filing for insolvency.
On 30 April 2020 took effect Royal Decree-law 16/2020 of 28 April 2020, which includes a new set of measures within the judicial system to deal with the COVID-19 situation.
We highlight below the main measures adopted below:
1. Procedural measures
- Part of August is made a working month, on an exceptional basis
The 11th to the 31st of August 2020 will be working days for all judicial proceedings. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are excluded except for proceedings for which these are already working days.
During the course of the most recent bull market, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity generally remained robust. We increasingly saw competitive auctions for desirable companies, some of which also had the ability to pursue an initial public offering instead of a sale. In the years since the 2008 financial crisis, many acquisitive companies have become accustomed to pursuing target companies with solid balance sheets and bright prospects.
Status Of Crypto-Assets Under English Law
The definition of ‘property’ in section 436 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is considered by many to be wide enough to be inclusive of crypto-assets, and recent developments in this jurisdiction also support the position that crypto-assets constitute property under English law.
Recent Developments
FINANCIAL SERVICES
New Regulations Facilitate Retail Investor Participation in Singapore Bond Market
Liquidators are often in a position where they have information which might be subject to the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and may need to use or exchange that information in performing their duties. Under the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016 (Cth), liquidators are also obliged to send initial reports to creditors within tight timeframes and potentially in circumstances where they may have limited contact details for creditors.
With data privacy issues constantly in the news, what do businesses need to know about handling personal information when they’re considering bankruptcy, especially if some personal information – like customer records – may be a valuable asset?