Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
The fifth episode of Season 4 of our podcast, Money Covered - The Month That Was, where the team looks at the Financial Conduct Authority's Vehicle Finance Redress Scheme Consultation, is now available.
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Headline development
In Fletcher & MacPherson v Desai the High Court considered whether section 375 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA 1986”) could be used to revisit the consequences of a successful transaction at an undervalue claim and, in particular, whether it could operate to preserve or confer secured status on a creditor after bankruptcy.
In Insight Terminal Solutions, LLC v. Cecelia Financial Management (In re Insight Terminal Solutions, LLC), 148 F.4th 869 (6th Cir. 2025), the Sixth Circuit reversed a bankruptcy court’s exclusion of deposition testimony in a debt-versus-equity recharacterization dispute. While the majority resolved the appeal on evidentiary grounds, Judge Eric Murphy’s concurrence questioned whether bankruptcy courts have any federal authority to recharacterize loans as equity.
Several significant judicial decisions were released in 2025 that remain relevant to businesses, commercial lenders and restructuring professionals. This bulletin summarizes the key developments of 2025 and highlights areas of significance for restructuring professionals and market participants to monitor in 2026.
1. Hudson’s Bay Company and Assignment of Contracts
In a significant ruling for shareholders, companies and directors, the Supreme Court has confirmed that unfair prejudice petitions under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) are not caught by statutory time limits imposed by the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980).
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India released the Report of the Committee on Framing Guidelines for Insolvency Proceedings in the Real Estate Sector, pursuant to directions of the Supreme Court of India in the case of Mansi Brar Fernandes v. Shubha Sharma & Ors., (December 12, 2025). The Court emphasized the need to prioritise project completion and protect homebuyer interests, consistent with broader constitutional principles, including the right to shelter under Article 21.
In Aquino (Re)1, the Court of Appeal for Ontario delivered a significant decision addressing several issues of importance to insolvency practitioners: the right to appeal a bankruptcy order without leave; the incidental authority of a CCAA monitor to seek a bankruptcy order against a judgment debtor; and—perhaps most notably—the continuation of a M
The Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in TAQA Bratani Limited [2025] EWCA Civ 1669 (“TAQA”) has reshaped the risk landscape for directors operating within corporate group structures, particularly complex ones.