TMA Europe

Friday 25 December 2015 | TMA Europe | www.tma-europe.org

First Speaker Announced for TMA Europe's London Round Table Next Month

A partner in KPMG's ECB office has been announced as one of the guest speakers at TMA Europe's Round Table debate in London next month.

Marcus Evans, who specialises in due diligence and strategy projects in the European banking sector, will be joined by other leading experts for a cross-discipline debate on The Single Resolution Mechanism in Europe at the event on Thursday, 28 January.

It is the latest in the very successful series of Round Tables, which bring together senior figures from different disciplines within the financial services sector for a joint discussion on key banking trends and policy. The inaugural debate was held in London earlier this year and there have since been other Round Tables in Milan, Madrid, and Frankfurt.

At all events, hand-picked speakers give a short speech to share their insight from the perspective of their own discipline. Each speaker then hosts a table, with the debate continuing over dinner.

Mr Evans, who is the lead for deal advisory in the ECB office for KPMG in Germany, will focus his talk on constraints on recovery from the multiple pressures on bank profitability, including from the €1 trillion of NPEs which remain on banks' balance sheets, as well as the constraints on recovery from the limited "non-bank" funding options for European SMEs.

Keynote Speaker Announced for TMA Europe's Eastern European Event

A speech outlining the future of CEE banking will kick-start an evening of debate on the economic environment in Eastern Europe at TMA Europe's next conference in the spring.

Ralf Zeitlberger, Head of Group Corporate Workout at the Erste Group Bank AG, Austria, has been announced as the keynote speaker for the third annual Eastern European conference taking place in Prague on Wednesday, 16 March, 2016. The conference follows two very successful events held at the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, with last year's attended by more than 120 delegates.

The 2016 event, being hosted by The Czech National Bank, is called Investment and Innovation - Restructuring and Reform in CEE, and will again focus on the specific challenges and opportunities for turnaround professionals working in this region.

In his speech Mr Zeitlberger will focus on the impact of EU banking regulations on the ability of the banks to support distressed businesses as well as reflecting on the consolidation and restructuring going on in the banking sector.

The speech will set the scene for the conference which will also see panel debates on non-performing loans and private equity buying into CEE.

Make a Date for Rome Next Summer

TMA Europe's annual conference will be held in Rome next summer, with bookings due to open early in the new year.

Plans for the ninth annual staging of the event are taking shape and conference organisers would like to hear from anyone who could take part as a panellist or sponsor.

The conference, which has become one of the industry's leading events, will be held on 9 and 10 June at the Grand Plaza hotel and will once again bring together some of the foremost experts in the fields of turnaround and restructuring.

The last two events have seen record attendances with more than 150 delegates taking advantage of the chance to catch up with colleagues from across the continent and get up to date with key developments in the industry.

The theme for next year's conference is SMEs with a programme set to include panel discussions, presentations on turnaround case studies, and a host of expert speakers focusing particularly on how to increase performance through turnaround culture and values.

Panels, for which participants are needed, will include debates on the importance and role of the founding entrepreneur in a turnaround process, and the contribution of the firm, professionals, and creditors to a restructuring and recovery.

There will also be a panel exploring the latest trends, techniques, and tools for SME debt restructuring in the main continental European jurisdictions of Germany, France, Italy, Spain,l and the UK, as well as one focusing on equity cram-down and EU harmonisation.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a panellist or a sponsor please email mcaruana@tma-europe.org.

Details of the programme will be available in the new year at www.tma-europe.org, when bookings will open with a limited early bird discount on offer.

The Challenges Ahead for China's "Patchy" Restructuring Laws

By Toby Luckhurst, Global Restructuring Review

With China's economic outlook looking uncertain, speakers at a recent event discussed whether the country's "patchy" restructuring laws are equipped to handle any potential fallout, particularly as far as foreign investors are concerned. Toby Luckhurst reports from Singapore that lawyers and advisers from DLA Piper, offshore firm Harneys, KPMG, AlixPartners, and FTI Consulting spoke in Singapore last week about the challenges of restructuring in China - on target for its slowest economic expansion in 25 years.

DLA Piper restructuring partner Jonathan Leitch from the firm's Hong Kong office acted as moderator in the panel discussion at the Turnaround Management Association's Asia-Pacific conference in Singapore on 19 November.

Despite the consensus that China's restructuring regime has "light spots and dark spots", one speaker shared his positive experience of the reorganisation of solar panel manufacturer Shanghai Chaori Solar - the first Chinese company ever to incur a domestic bond default in March last year - and said there was still hope for ways to achieve an efficient process.

"While the process doesn't bear resemblance to Chapter 11 or schemes of arrangement, the outcome is the same," he mused.

2016 Turnaround of the Year Awards - Call for Entries

Entries have opened for TMA Europe's prestigious annual Turnaround of the Year Awards.

The awards, which are now in their fifth year, aim to celebrate the achievements of the individual or team of TMA turnaround professionals who have orchestrated the most successful recovery of a struggling company.

There are two categories, one for a small company whose revenue at the onset of the turnaround was less than 100 million Euros, and one for a large company whose revenue at the onset of the turnaround was more than 100 million Euros.

Submissions for the awards are assessed on the main actions taken to bring about around the turnaround, the issues that arose and how they were overcome, as well as the eventual outcome.

The winners of the awards will be announced at TMA Europe's pre conference banquet being held this year at the Grand Hotel Plaza in Rome, Italy, on 9 June 2016.

The deadline for entries is Friday, 29 April 2016.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Template

For more information please contact mcaruana@tma-europe.org.

IEB Joins EACTP Examination and Training Programme

Instituto de Estudios Bursatiles Madrid (IEB) is joining with EACTP to deliver the Finance and Accounting module of the EACTP Education and training programme. This will include holding two one-day seminars supported by a programme of self-study videos in the English language. The seminars, one on basic financial statement interpretation and the more advanced seminar on valuations, distressed indicators, and liquidation analysis are tailored to applicants' varying levels of financial understanding. Whilst not mandatory, they are highly recommended for non-accounting restructuring professionals.

They will support the online learning programme of recommended self-study material leading to the finance and accounting examination, one of the three three-hour papers leading to the ECTP Analyst level qualification. The second of the seminars will be held immediately prior to EACTP's three-day training course on Management and European and cross border legal principles being delivered by EACTP in conjunction with faculty leader, Leiden University.

TMA UK Network of Women Inaugural Event

By Jo Holland, Managing Partner, BM&T

The TMA Network of Women (NOW). originally started by TMA Global in the USA, is the premier business development and networking group for women in the turnaround, restructuring and

transformation community globally.

TMA NOW was created to help connect the industry's leading women, provide opportunities for leadership development, and improve networking skills.

The TMA UK Chapter held an inaugural meeting of the TMA NOW on the 3rd of December 2015 to establish a Network of Women programme in the United Kingdom. The objective of establishing this group is to provide value for TMA female members through targeted networking, leadership, and educational opportunities.

The invitation was extended to TMA female members, of whom there are 25, and to non TMA female members in the transformation, turnaround and restructuring community. The turnout was excellent with 45 women in attendance, all with varied backgrounds.

Glenn August, Founder & CEO of Oak Hill Advisors, to Keynote the 2016 TMA Distressed Investing Conference

The 2016 TMA Distressed Investing Planning Committee is pleased to announce keynote speaker Glenn August, the founder and CEO of Oak Hill Advisors.

Glenn August has been the global head of Oak Hill Advisors' distressed investing activity since 1990. Prior to that, he helped co-found the investment firm that preceded Oak Hill Advisors. Since 1987, Mr. August has served on nine corporate boards. Previously, Mr. August worked for Morgan Stanley in New York and London in the mergers and acquisitions department.

Looking to do more business in North America? This is the conference for you to plan to attend. For more information on the conference features, such as the Turnaround Capital Forum, please visit tmadistressedinvesting.org.

Register Before the Holidays

Utilize the last of your 2015 budget and register before the holidays to ensure you receive the early bird discount and competitive room rate of $239/night that's inclusive of all fees. The early bird deadline is Monday, January 25, 2016.

Reserve your room online or visit tmadistressedinvesting.org for more information.

Submit TMA Europe Newsletter Articles

Submit articles for consideration for the next TMA Europe Newsletter to Mandy Caruana by Wednesday 13 January 2016. Suggested topics include TMA Europe events, activities, or announcements.