On June 30, the current bankruptcy moratorium ends, except for a further extension. With the expiration date approaching, various groups are beginning to speculate about the possibility of deferring, once again, the end of this extraordinary extension. From the Abencys office, it is expected that, at the end of this measure, various factors may accumulate that may affect a large group of companies in a unique way.
Thus, under the protection of what is known as the “bankruptcy moratorium”, since that the state of alarm be declared in March 2020, insolvent companies have been exempt from submitting bankruptcy proceedings despite being legally obliged to do so. With the end of the moratorium, and the non-full recovery of our economy, it is expected that numerous companies will attend the contest simultaneously, many of them already companies zombiesthat is, de facto unviable companies that have maintained their activity artificially due to public support measures, thus producing an inefficient allocation of resources.
Faced with this situation, the Abencys office maintains its position: “What in principle was a logical measure and adopted in most of the countries around us, with the passage of time, the successive extensions and the non-demand of any requirement to benefit from them, has become to a degree with counterproductive effects for the future of the Spanish productive fabric”.
In view of the number of insolvency proceedings filed since the entry into force of this measure, it is clear that the insolvency moratorium has generated a sedative effect on companies in difficulty, plunging them into a false sense that the decision on the measures to adopt for the survival of the business can be postponed almost indefinitely.
Along these lines, Javier Díaz-Gálvez, a partner at Abencys, is aware that when a company runs into difficulties it is not easy to implement the necessary measures to enable its survival, but he regrets that “The insolvency moratorium has not finally helped this end, but rather the opposite, artificially postponing the solution to the problem.
Many companies in difficultieswho should have already faced complex but necessary measures for their survival, have continued to operate in the same situation, aggravating their condition, and now with the end of the moratorium, they will have to face the reality of their possibly critical situation.”
End of the bankruptcy moratorium: a possible judicial collapse
Despite the fact that bankruptcy proceedings have continued to be requested during the default period, there are many more companies and entrepreneurs that have been taking advantage of the successive extensions of the bankruptcy moratorium, thus delaying the filing of their bankruptcy proceedings, as they have legal coverage to do so. .
It is therefore foreseeable that after the end of the measure, all the affected companies and entrepreneurs, in order to try to avoid the responsibility of their administrators, will have no other option than to file for insolvency proceedings in the coming months, therefore that if to this effect we add the change in regulations that is also coming in the regulation of bankruptcy proceedings and the second chance can be caused a veritable collapse of the courts companies that have not seen their means reinforced in this period of default.
