Debt Restructuring in Germany

Abstract

For a long time, German restructuring and insolvency law had no pre-insolvency restructuring scheme binding on dissenting creditors. Only in opened insolvency proceedings a restructuring plan could be used for debt restructuring. Now the German legislators has taken means to improve German law in three ways: first, by updating the German Bond Act (also known as the German Debenture Act), especially through permitting the change of the bond conditions by a majority vote of the creditors if the conditions allow for such majority vote; second, by improving German insolvency law through the “Act for the Further Simplification of Company Restructuring (ESUG)” which enables the debtor to start early restructuring preparation proceedings (“protective umbrella proceedings”); and, third, by announcing the introduction of new pre-insolvency restructuring proceedings as a reaction to the EU Directive proposed by the European Commission on 22 November 2016.