The economic newspaper Five days, from El Pais, has published a forum of opinion of Pablo Ureña, procedural partner of Afianza, where it tells the implications that the Law has had after 3 years and what the points of improvement are still.
Law 16/2022, which reformed the Consolidated Text of the Law on Contracts, is celebrating its third anniversary. Directive (EU) 2019/1023 To strengthen preventive mechanisms in the face of insolvency. Notable progress has been made at this time, but also challenges that require adjustments.
Main changes introduced by the insolvency reform
Strengthening pre-conflict law and preventive restructuring plans
One of the pillars of the reform has been the impetus of pre-concursal right, allowing to anticipate solutions as soon as the company shows the first insolvency risk. The Act expands the instruments for restructure without reaching the contest, by modern restructuring plans This scheme not only expedites early intervention, but protects the continuity of the company reducing the unnecessary judicialization of financial conflicts.
Debt relief for natural persons
The reform introduces improvements to the second chance: allows natural persons (entrepreneurs or not) may achieve debt relief without first having to settle its assets, by allocating its future income to the payment of part of those obligations, which enhances the protection of the debtor provided that it demonstrates good faith.
What results has the reform left in these three years?
- Decrease in competitions from large companiesIn 2024, the company contests with turnover of more than 5 million represented less than 3 %.
- Large volume of competitions without mass: in 2024, 83.11 % of the proceedings were of this type, which implies simultaneous opening and closing, almost without assets to liquidate.
- Insufficient use of the special procedure For micro-enterprises, despite its regulatory simplification: in 2024 it was used by 1,356 companies, 22.6% of the corporate contests.
- Increase in competitions for natural personsIn 2024, they accounted for 86.29% of the total; the reform of the exemption had a central role to play in this change.
Although the reform has consolidated the transition from a reactive approach to a preventive approach — favouring business continuity — it is not without criticism.In particular, there are doubts as to the speed with which assets should be liquidated, weighing risk of losses in trying to obtain fair value in forced sales.
Frequently asked questions about insolvency reform
What is a contest without mass and why is it so common?
A contest without mass occurs when the debtor does not have sufficient assets In these cases, the competition is opened and closed simultaneously, with no actual liquidation; in 2024 it accounted for more than 83% of the competitions.
Who can benefit from debt relief with the reform?
Natural persons, even if they are entrepreneurs or professionals, provided they demonstrate good faith and comply with the requirements of the procedure Second chance.
Why did the reform contemplate a special procedure for micro-enterprises and hardly use it?
Although the process was simplified (use of electronic forms and more agile processing), its use has been limited. Many companies do not adopt it because of lack of knowledge, lack of advice or because they still see excessive legal complexity.
You can read the full article in Five Days (reform of the Law of Concursal)
