Although companies in restructuring are still struggling to obtain financing for their operations, there are already the first swallows heralding that banks are beginning to treat them as equal business partners.
Such a positive example is Fiten SA, which has been in sanitation proceedings since August 2016. The company's management board, together with its administrator, the law firm PMR Restrukturyzacje SA, reached an agreement in mid-April this year with the company's financing banks - ING Bank Śląski and mBank. It signed two agreements with them - for a revolving loan of PLN 3 million and a working capital loan of PLN 500 thousand.
As restructuring advisors admit, contrary to the provisions of the new act on restructuring banks instead help a debt-ridden company to repair itself, often refusing to provide it with previously granted loans. Although such actions are not in accordance with the new law, entrepreneurs do not have effective tools to defend themselves against such practices.
One of the main company problems, which have benefited from the new act on restructuring law, in force since 1 January 2016, is to obtain refinancing. Although the new regulations do not allow banks to terminate contracts with companies that have been granted the status of a commercial court companies undergoing restructuring, it often happens that banks terminate existing agreements, reduce credit limits, and obtaining new funds borders on a miracle.
This situation happened to the Pharmaceutical Wholesaler Intra sp. z o. o., which has been in the process of sanitation proceedings. After starting the process bank restructuring significantly reduced the limits of factoring, which de facto meant the seizure of funds in the bank account and caused additional difficulties in the company's financial liquidity.
According to restructuring advisors, such behaviour of banks is not uncommon, but the lawsuit which, in accordance with the instructions of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, the restructuring administrator of the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Intra filed against BZ WBK bank will be a precedent since the new act on restructuring.
21 April 2017:
" Banks are beginning to believe in the success of restructuring
