Royal Decree-Law 14/2013 ("RD-L 14/2013"), of 29 November, of urgent measures to adapt Spanish law to European Union regulations on the supervision and solvency of financial institutions, that entered into force on 1 December, clarifies the insolvency qualification regime applicable to the credits transferred by SAREB, to third parties, thus modifying section h) of article 36.4 of Act 9/2012, of 14 November, on the restructuring and resolution of credit institutions ("Act 9/2012").

Market participants welcome a clarification extending equitable subordination exemptions granted Sareb to those subsequently purchasing debt from Sareb.

On November 30, 2013, the Spanish legislator approved a recent amendment to Spanish insolvency law, introduced in March 2013, to clarify that a claim transferred to Spanish “bad bank” Sareb, and subsequently sold by Sareb to a third party, will also be exempt from equitable subordination risk.

Background

1. La venta de la unidad productiva de las sociedades en concurso ha devenido en la actualidad un fenómeno habitual en los Juzgados Mercantiles, en especial de los de Cataluña que cuentan con el apoyo expreso de la Direcció General d´Industria de la Generalitat de Cataluña.

Esta solución concursal permite continuar con la actividad empresarial, asegura el mantenimiento de los puestos de trabajo y evita la destrucción del tejido empresarial.

Act 26/2013, passed on 27 December 2013 and published in the Official Journal of Spain on 28 December 2013 has amended the provisions of the Spanish Insolvency Act (the “SIA”) related to out-of-court restructuring. In particular Act 26/2013 modifies the 4th Additional Disposition of the SIA which allows to, upon certain circumstances, force extensions to dissident financial creditors in Spanish restructurings through the intervention of a Court (hereinafter, the “Court Homologation”).

The Madrid Provincial Court (Section 28) ruling of December 7, 2012, and the Barcelona Provincial Court (Section 15) ruling of October 4, 2012, judged the insolvency categorisation of a credit the receivers had categorised as subordinate because they held that the creditor company belonged to the same corporate group as the insolvent company.⁶ In both cases, the provincial courts analysed the concept of group for the purposes of insolvency before and after the reform of the Insolvency Act introduced under Act 38/2011.

I. Planteamiento

Es sabido que en la práctica judicial concursalista española se ha extendido la técnica de dictar Autos de simultánea declaración y conclusión del concurso con extinción de la persona jurídica concursada y baja registral por la presumible insuficiencia del activo para hacer frente a los créditos previsibles contra la masa (denominado concurso express).

The Supreme Court clarified the insolvency categorisation for interest rate swap contracts, classifying them as insolvency credits, as they fail to meet the functional synallagma requirement, which establishes functional reciprocal obligations.

New criteria set out by the Bank of Spain will have a binding nature for supervised financial entities

Introduction

On 30 April 2013 the supervisory body of the Bank of Spain sent a formal communication to the financial entities subject to its supervision containing the criteria to be used with regard to the definition, documentation, follow-up and review of credit refinancing and restructuring transactions (the Communication).

Sí se puede, según pronunciamientos recientes de los Tribunales Superiores de Justicia. Se trata de varias Sentencias dictadas por el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla-La Mancha (entre ellas, la Sentencia de 11 de febrero de 2013, recurso n.º 320/2012, y la de12 de febrero de 2013, recurso n.º 321/2012), y del Auto del TSJ de Madrid número 41/2012, de 21 de enero.

Yes it can, according to the most recent judgments of the Spanish high courts. The question was addressed in several Judgments issued by the High Court (HC) of Castilla-La Mancha (amongst others, the Judgment issued on 11 February 2013, in Appeal no. 320/2012, and the Judgment issued on 12 February 2013 on Appeal no. 321/2012) and by the High Court (HC) of Madrid in its Judgment no. 41/2012 of 21 January.