The Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency sets minimum standards for restructuring and certain insolvency matters, but its harmonization effect will be limited given multiple options for implementation, likely leading to divergent restructuring models in Europe. These options reveal different policy approaches to the regulation of restructuring and insolvency. The analysis in this paper aims to illustrate the breadth of the policy choices and their consequences for restructuring activity. States should carefully design restructuring procedures to avoid the negative economic effects of certain options that could undermine creditors’ rights or result in unpredictable outcomes, particularly in cross-border cases.

This comprehensive book provides a clear analysis of the European Restructuring Directive, which aims to improve national frameworks governing business restructuring and insolvency as well as to provide debt relief for individuals. Gerard McCormack explores the key aspects of the Directive including the moratorium on litigation and enforcement claims against the financially-troubled business, the provision for new financing, the division of creditors into classes, the introduction of a restructuring plan and the rules for approval of the plan by a court or administrative authority.

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.

In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Preventive Restructuring Directive (2019/1023), providing for minimum harmonisation of, among others, preventive restructuring frameworks (PRF). This book provides in-depth analyses of its implementation in seven European countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Whereas Member States of the European Union were under a duty to complete implementation by July 2022, the United Kingdom took inspiration from it when voluntarily introducing reforms to its restructuring regime. This book covers detailed analyses of the new or reformed PRFs across Europe, including the objective and scope of a PRF, the criteria/test to enter a PRF, the involved actors, the possibilities for a stay, the plan, the possibilities for a debt-for-equity swap, the effects of a PRF on executory contracts and jurisdiction and recognition of court decisions taken during a PRF. Drawing on the domestic implementations, the book also presents a comparative study evaluating the different policy options implemented by domestic legislators. This book functions as an insightful source for practitioners, academics and policy makers. This book series is published under the aegis of the Leiden Business and Law Research Network (BLRN). This research and expertise network conducts research on the various aspects of doing business in the context of company and insolvency law. BLRN pays particular focus on topics such as corporate governance, corporate sustainability, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring and insolvency. www.universiteitleiden.nl/blrn

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.

This authoritative Commentary provides an in-depth evaluation of the legislation regulating cross-border insolvency within the European Union. Bringing together a diverse team of legal scholars and practitioners from across the EU Member States, it delivers incisive dissections of the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR) provisions, which define the jurisdiction of the courts of EU Member States in insolvency proceedings as well as the national law that should be applied, and provide for the automatic recognition of other Member State's judgements along with a regime of coordination between proceedings opened in different Member States. Key Features: Expansive reference to case-law and legal writings Specific attention to private international law issues Comprehensive article-by-article analysis of the EIR Meticulous explanation by leading scholars in the field to aid understanding of each provision Up-to-date breakdown of the main national implementation legislations of the regulation Exploration of the interplay between the EIR and the Brussels Ibis Regulation, as well as the relationships with third countries This Commentary will be a crucial reference tool for practitioners active in cross-border insolvency and restructuring in Europe. It will also prove a key resource for students and scholars of commercial law, company and insolvency law, and European private international law.