Debt Restructuring

The Corporate Debt section includes significant changes to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on restructurings, including: potential grounds for investors/lenders to modify or terminate commitments to fund or support restructurings by invoking material adverse effect or force majeure clauses; unprecedented relief granted by insolvency courts to aid ailing retailers; and challenges facing insolvency courts in making necessary confirmation findings regarding the feasibility of reorganization plans due to market instability. This section also includes the recent adoption of the Part 26A Restructuring Plans and the EU Restructuring Directive.

Amendments to the Bank Resolution section reflect decisions by the Single Resolution Board, and national authority resolution decisions notified to the European Banking Authority. A new sub-section on domestic bank insolvency and liquidation covers the developments under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive, and a new chapter on insolvency law relating to Insurance Firms addresses the international debate on a special resolution regime for insurance firms. Other updates include the 2017 code of practice, the 'third country' branch model after Brexit, non-equivalence regarding depositor protection arrangements, and the Resolvability Assessment Framework.

In the Sovereign Debt section, there is detailed coverage of US and UK developments, examining the increased role of sanctions and the possibility of piercing the corporate veil in Stae owned-enterprises, as well as the increased push for domestic laws to be used to curtail litigation. It also covers developments in re-designation and the emergence of the 'pac-man technique' in the context of collective action clauses, as a result of the recent restructurings of Argentina and Ecuador. The impact of COVID-19 on the adoption of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework are also analysed.