Over the last few years Spain has amended its insolvency laws to promote
out of court refinancing arrangements as a much needed alternative
to formal insolvency proceedings. The outcome of these changes,
aimed at putting Spain on a par with other EU jurisdictions, is yet to be
seen. However, what is clear is that the latest round of amendments
has substantially improved the possibility of reaching an out of court
refinancing settlement in Spain.
Historically, in relation to syndicated facilities, out of court refinancing

Survival  

Debt maturity profile Companies should ensure that they have a very clear understanding of the timing of their cash needs and in particular of the maturity profile of their debt – when does debt fall due and when will refinancing be required?  

On 13 October 2010 ASIC released the National Insolvent Trading Program (NITP) Report, which sets out key messages, promoting greater director responsibility by encouraging directors to remain properly and fully informed about a company’s financial affairs, and to be aware of the implications of insolvent trading; and to seek (timely) professional advice from accountants, lawyers and insolvency practitioners.

After consulting over 1500 companies displaying solvency concerns, ASIC has identified several possible insolvency indicators including:

While in other jurisdictions creditors of an insolvent company may swap their debts into equity, creditors in Austria are still confronted with a “take it or leave it” approach as to the proposed quota payment to unsecured creditors. The recent insolvencies of large Austrian companies show the inadequacy of Austrian insolvency law in that respect.

Financial crisis just arrives

The signs for the leveraged finance market in 2011 are mixed. Questions remain as to whether this year will see a fresh spate of restructurings and/or continued growth in primary issuance. Whilst data compiled by Fitch Ratings has shown that European PE backed company default rates slowed in 2010 (and premier league spending during the January transfer window topped £225 million compared with £30 million last year), the primary leveraged finance market has started slowly this year.

This article was published in slightly different format in the January 2008 issue of Credit Magazine.

Since the adoption of the 2011 Finance Act, the scope of application for thin capitalization rules, provided for in article 212 of the French Tax Code, was extended to all loans, including bank loans, backed by security interest or a guarantee, granted by a company belonging to the borrower's group or by a company with a guaranteed undertaking secured by a company related to the borrower.

On March 8, 2011, France's highest court, the Cour de cassation, confirmed that CMBS borrower, Heart of la Défense SAS (Hold), and its Luxembourg parent company, Dame Luxembourg Sarl (Dame), were entitled to Court protection in France under Safeguard Proceedings (sauvegarde). Safeguard is a French bankruptcy process that resembles the U.S. Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession procedures, used most recently (and notably) in connection with the bankruptcies of General Motors and Lehman Brothers.

Se explora la posibilidad de que los acreedores financieros de la masa del concurso puedan solicitar una homologación judicial de un acuerdo de refinanciación de sus créditos contra la empresa ya consursada.

In theMatter of Forest and Marine Financial Corporation (2009) BCCA 319, the British Columbia Court of Appeal was called upon to consider whether a limited partnership qualifies for protection under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (“CCAA”). The Court also considered whether, in the circumstances of the case, a stay of proceedings should have been issued with respect to the limited partnership.