ABI Blog Exchange

A year after buying the artificial intelligence fintech Layer 6, TD Bank is "rewiring how the organization has worked," Gregory Braca says.

Recent developments give the impression that the administration and lawmakers are in direct competition, but the ultimate framework may rely on coordination from both branches of government.

Arsenal Energy Holdings has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 19-10226).  According to the First Day Declaration, Arsenal, which is headquartered in Wexford, Pennsylvania, is a holding company that, through its non-Debtor subsidiaries, owns and operates 77 natural gas wells in the Appalachian Basin.  According to a press release from the Debtors, the Debtors enter chapter 11 having already solicited votes on a prepackaged plan of reorganization, with 93% of its equity holders and 100% of its noteholders voting in favor of the plan.  The Disclosure Statement can be found here.  Prime Clerk is the proposed claims and noticing agent.  The case has been assigned to the Honorable Brendan Linehan Shannon. 

Steve Boms, executive director of the Financial Data and Technology Association, says open banking standards are needed for U.S. banks and fintechs to follow.

Federal Reserve chairman and vice chairman meet the president for dinner, but interest rates aren’t on the menu.

Here are a few pointers to help you at the start of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process.

1. Be Patient

When I said bankruptcy “process,” I really meant it’s a process.  Filing for bankruptcy relief is comparable to filing your taxes.

For some people, it can be a relatively swift and easy process, but for the majority of folks, it will take time to gather the necessary documents and information.  Once you have provided all the information to your attorney, it will still take some time to get the bankruptcy forms prepared and to review everything for accuracy.

A bankruptcy petition is considered a sworn statement to the court.  As a result, you definitely want to make sure that everything is correct.

2. Take a Credit Counseling Course

Every person who files bankruptcy must take a credit counseling course before the case can be filed.  At Bond & Botes, we assist our clients in the process by helping them get in touch with certified credit counseling agencies.  If you are filing pro se, then be aware that your case can be immediately dismissed if your file before you’ve completed a credit counseling course.

By: Donald L Swanson

Historically, bankruptcy courts and bankruptcy professionals have been lagging adopters of mediation. They’ve been slow to utilize mediation for resolving bankruptcy disputes, and they’ve been slow to adopt local rules on mediation.

Today, however, 76 (80.85%) of all 94 bankruptcy court districts have a local mediation rule of some type (see this link), and mediation is a significant tool in many bankruptcy courts.  That’s because of a simple reality: bankruptcy mediation works!

Bankruptcy mediation is useful, for example, in dealing with heavy caseloads and high-emotion cases, in minimizing litigation costs and maximizing personal relationships (especially with early mediation), in providing creative solutions to interrelated disputes, and in protecting confidentiality.

Of those 80.85%, however, a dozen or so must rely on the local mediation rules of their District Court. Three examples from the Midwest are the two Iowa Districts and the District of Minnesota.