Bankruptcy

Wall Street Journal - Carl Icahn Believes Exclusivity Period In Bankruptcy Thwarts Recovery

By Scott Riddle

Carl C. Icahn has an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled Bankruptcy Rules Thwart the Recovery.  Here are a few excerpts -

The epic financial crisis afflicting the banking industry over the past 18 months is largely the result of cratering loan and other asset values stuck on bank balance sheets. When the market for such loans stalled, banks couldn't sell them and had to take billions of dollars in writedowns.

Fearing the worst, the government pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into these institutions, with questionable long-term results. Though it is early in the rescue, the economy has shown few signs of improvement, and the bank losses continue.  Why should taxpayers foot the bill when there are trillions of dollars in private money on the sidelines in the world financial markets? Private investment is a far more appropriate agent to revive these institutions, yet little is coming in.  One reason for this is that distressed assets on bank balance sheets have artificially low values because of misguided federal bankruptcy laws...

This state of affairs could be improved by eliminating the bankruptcy rule known as the "exclusivity" period. This rule unfairly gives managements, with court approval, a monopoly in drawing up a reorganization plan for a minimum of 18 months. Generally that plan includes proposals to restructure debt, sell assets and void onerous contracts. During this period nontrade creditors, like bank debt and bond holders, languish in uncertainty as to what will happen to their investment.

The exclusivity rule mainly benefits equity holders and managements, not creditors. But why should the same management that got the company into trouble have the right to lock-up its assets for an extended period of time? Without an exclusivity period, different classes of creditors and equity holders could immediately propose different restructuring solutions, including the sale of assets overseen by a bankruptcy court. The biggest impact of such a rule change would be that the assets of a company in Chapter 11 would be priced as though they could be sold -- in effect giving them a "mergers & acquisitions premium" -- rather than be shackled for years in a bankruptcy court.

Full post as published by Georgia Bankruptcy Blog on January 11, 2009 (boomark / email).