On 16 November 2015, the legislative decrees implementing Directive 2014/59/EU (Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive - BRRD) in Italy were published in the Italian Official Gazette (Gazzetta Ufficiale) and entered into force.
In particular, Legislative Decree No. 180/2015 is a stand-alone law which implements the BRRD, while Legislative Decree No. 181/2015 (the Amending Decree) amends the Italian Banking Law and deals principally with recovery plans, early intervention and changes to the creditor hierarchy.
In particular, as described in our previous eAlert, the Amending Decree introduces an important change to Article 56 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law concerning the enforceability of rights of set-off in insolvency. In accordance with the comments made by A&O and ISDA, this provision has now been amended in order to provide that limitations on set-off will apply only in the absence of a financial collateral arrangement or agreement for set-off or netting.
Please also note that, pursuant to to the Decrees:
- the bail-in tool will apply from 1January 2016; and
- “depositor preference” to deposits other than those protected by the deposit guarantee scheme and those of individuals and SME’s will apply from 1 January 2019.
For any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.