Current Issues in European Financial and Insolvency Law


Book Description

Recent case-law and legislation in European company and insolvency law have significantly furthered the integration of European business regulation. In particular, the case-law of the European Court of Justice and the introduction of the EU Insolvency Regulation have provided the stimulus for current reforms in various jurisdictions in the fields of insolvency and financial law. The UK, for instance, has adopted the Enterprise Act in 2002, designed, inter alia, to enhance enterprise and to strengthen the UK's approach to bankruptcy and corporate rescue. In a similar vein, a recent reform in France has modernised French insolvency law and even introduced a tool similar to the successful English 'company voluntary arrangement' (CVA). This book provides a collection of studies by some of the leading English and French experts today, analysing current perspectives of insolvency and financial law in Europe, both on the national as well as on the European level.




Rescue of Business in Europe


Book Description

This edited volume is based on the European Law Institute's project, The Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law, which ran from 2013 to 2016. The project sought to investigate and articulate the essential features of well-functioning procedures for the "rescue" of distressed but viable businesses. Although the focus was primarily on the design and implementation of formal procedures (that is, those provided by law), the project also required consideration of the interaction between such procedures and informal solutions to distress, given the obvious cost advantages of the latter. The ELI project was not confined exclusively to restructurings, since these are only one possible route to maximising the value of a distressed but viable business (an auction procedure, in which the business is sold on a going concern basis to a new owner, is one obvious alternative). The ELI project encompasses various aspects of both public/constitutional law and insolvency law that may have a bearing on the functionality of formal restructuring procedures.




Orderly and Effective Insolvency Procedures


Book Description

Written by IMF's Legal Department, this book outlines the key issues involved in designing and implementing orderly and effective insolvency procedures, which play a critical role in fostering growth and competitiveness and may also assist in the prevention and resolution of financial crises. The book draws on lessons learned from firsthand experience by some of the IMF's 182 member countries. It includes an analysis of the major policy choices that countries need to address when designing an insolvency system, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these choices, and a number of specific recommendations.




A Strategy for Resolving Europe's Problem Loans


Book Description

Europe’s banking system is weighed down by high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), which are holding down credit growth and economic activity. This discussion note uses a new survey of European country authorities and banks to examine the structural obstacles that discourage banks from addressing their problem loans. A three pillared strategy is advocated to remedy the situation, comprising: (i) tightened supervisory policies, (ii) insolvency reforms, and (iii) the development of distressed debt markets.




Corporate Liquidity and Solvency in Europe during COVID-19: The Role of Policies


Book Description

The spread of COVID-19, containment measures, and general uncertainty led to a sharp reduction in activity in the first half of 2020. Europe was hit particularly hard—the economic contraction in 2020 is estimated to have been among the largest in the world—with potentially severe repercussions on its nonfinancial corporations. A wave of corporate bankruptcies would generate mass unemployment, and a loss of productive capacity and firm-specific human capital. With many SMEs in Europe relying primarily on the banking sector for external finance, stress in the corporate sector could easily translate into pressures in the banking system (Aiyar et al., forthcoming).




Corporate Rescue


Book Description

"Corporate Rescue serves as a comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the rescue of insolvent companies and businesses. It offers an in-depth analysis of relevant case law and legislation and provides you with the tools you need to advise successfully in this area of law."--BOOK JACKET.




Non-Performing Loans and Resolving Private Sector Insolvency


Book Description

This book explores the issue of private sector over-indebtedness following the recent financial crisis. It addresses the various challenges for policymakers, investors and economic agents affected by applied remedial policies as the private non-financial sector in Europe continues to face increased challenges in servicing its debt, with the problem mainly concentrated in several countries in the EU periphery and Eastern Europe. Chapters from expert contributors address reduced investment as firms concentrate on deleveraging and repairing their balance sheets, curtailed consumer spending, depressed collateral values and weak credit creation. They examine effective policies to facilitate private sector debt restructuring which may involve significant upfront costs in terms of time to implement and committed budgetary resources, as well as necessary reforms required to improve the broader institutional framework and judicial capacity. The book also explores the issue of over indebtedness in the household sector, contributing to the literature in establishing best practice principles for household debt.




Insolvency and Enforcement Reforms in Italy


Book Description

Italian banks are burdened with high levels of nonperforming loans, the cleanup of which depends in important part on the efficiency of insolvency and enforcement processes. Traditionally, these processes in Italy have taken very long, hampering the timely cleanup of balance sheets. In response, the authorities have legislated a number of measures. This paper explores the recent insolvency and enforcement reforms and the remaining challenges. These reforms introduce important positive changes that are expected to yield full benefits over the medium to long term. The efficacy of the reforms, including to deal with the current stock of high nonperforming loans, can be enhanced by introducing effective out-of-court enforcement mechanisms, supplemented by a more intensive use of informal and hybrid debt-restructuring solutions. Moreover, there is an urgent need to rationalize the system, which over the years has become very complex and intricate.




A Guide to Consumer Insolvency Proceedings in Europe


Book Description

Since the adoption of the EU Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings in 2000 and its recast in 2015, it has become clear that lawyers engaged in consumer insolvency proceedings are increasingly expected to have a basic understanding of foreign insolvency proceedings, as well as knowledge of the foreign country's court and legal system, legislation and judicial practice. Written by 50 highly qualified insolvency experts from 30 European countries, A Guide to Consumer Insolvency Proceedings in Europe provides the necessary information in the largest, most up-to-date and comprehensive book on this topic. Assisting the readers in their navigation through the differences, similarities, and peculiarities of insolvency proceedings in all Member States of the European Union, Switzerland and Russia, this book is a unique guide to insolvency proceedings across Europe. With contributions by both academics and practitioners, it provides truly multinational coverage of the economic, legal, social, political, and demographic issues in consumer insolvency. Illustrating the numerous practices across Europe, this book allows the reader to evaluate each aspect both on its own merits, as well as in comparison to the approaches applied in other European jurisdictions. This book will be an invaluable tool for insolvency practitioners, judges, lawyers, creditors and debtors throughout Europe, especially those participating in cross-border proceedings.




Security Rights and the European Insolvency Regulation


Book Description

A comparative analysis of security rights in insolvency proceedings under the main legal traditions of the European Union (common law, Germanic, Napoleonic Code and East European) in the context of Articles 5 and 13 of the European Insolvency Regulation Regulation 1346/2000.