Speech by the Guest of Honour at the 4th Annual Conference
Mr. Mark Bloom, Chair, International Insolvency Institute; Chair, Baker McKenzie’s North America Global Restructuring Practice, Miami, USA
I am honored to receive the invitation to attend and speak at the ILA’s 4th Annual Conference.
Greetings from International Insolvency Institute.
International Insolvency Institute (III):
Mission, place in global insolvency world, work and support for development of local and cross-border insolvency regimes around the world, as part of which we very much would like to support and contribute meaningfully to the important work of ILA and so many of you in furtherance of that growth and development here in India, world’s fastest growing and most dynamic economy, as it pursues Viksit Bharat over next 2 decades.
The International Insolvency Institute is a global non-profit, limited-membership organization of approximately 450 members from > 60 countries, dedicated to advancing and promoting insolvency as a respected discipline in the international field.
Our membership includes leading judges, academics, scholars, legal and financial advisory practitioners, representatives of financial institutions, government and regulatory bodies, all of whom must be nominated for membership by their peers after at least 15 years of experience in the field of insolvency.
III is one of several leading organizations seeking to advance and promote the growth and development of insolvency law and systems around the world.
Many of you no doubt are already familiar with the expansive work and footprint of INSOL, a much larger, open-membership organization that is amply represented here by its dynamic Executive Director Scott Stuart, and no less than three of its elite Past Presidents – Scott Atkins, James Sprayregen, and of course, your own Sumant Batra. It was INSOL that ignited my interest in cross-border insolvency work when I attended my first annual meeting in London in 2000, and I’ve continued to attend and do my best to contribute to that organization ever since.
III occupies a different niche within the array of international insolvency organizations. Through our exceptional membership of seasoned and experienced insolvency experts, we seek to act as a catalyst for improvement and change in the international insolvency area.
As important components of that effort, III is proud to hold official observer status as a non-governmental entity at Working Groups II and V of UNCITRAL, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law that, among other things, developed and promulgated the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency that now has been adopted in some 64 jurisdictions around the world – and hopefully soon here in India as well. We view adoption of the Model Law as an important milestone, and a signal to the international financial institutions and private investors of the stability and predictability that are essential to encourage inbound foreign investment in adopting nations.
We also seek to keep abreast of and offer our support to other organizations around the world that are leading the effort to promote growth and development of functional insolvency systems in their home countries.
It is in that spirit that I turn to acknowledge and offer our support to ILA as precisely such a leader here in his dynamic and rapidly emerging country. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the ambitious national goals of escalating growth in GDP and industrial output, and development of a robust 21st century infrastructure to leverage technology as part of that growth, is the need for an enhanced and streamlined system of insolvency laws. Indeed, the evolution of that legal system, and its acceptance in the global financial community, are essential to provide the structure and predictability to attract and promote capital investment, encourage entrepreneurial risk, and provide second chance opportunities to restructure in order to create enterprise value and preserve jobs that drive the economy forward.
Around the world we view the progress made to date here in India as substantial:
The consolidation and streamlining of fragmented bankruptcy laws through adoption of the IBC to expedite the resolution of insolvent concerns, maximize asset value, and allow for speedy and efficient market exit within a 180-300 day period, or for orderly closure where revival efforts may fail, as always will be the case under any system.
The positive impacts that have begun to emerge under the new and revamped system — increased credit availability, reduced Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) for banks, and a shift towards market-driven solutions.
As in every country – developed or developing – there remains much more work to be done, and India’s efforts toward greater progress and reform are enhanced significantly through the work – and also the visibility – of the ILA.
As senior leaders in the field our III members are key participants in, and keen observers of the many initiatives undertaken around the world to modernize local insolvency laws to become more responsive to the needs of evolving economies and international trade. We note in particular the very significant reforms and expansions of insolvency law and jurisprudence in countries like The Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, England, Singapore and Malaysia. Nowhere though, have we seen greater and more commendable focus on the modernization of insolvency laws than here in India, including and since adoption of the IBC in 2016.
And in furtherance of that process, the comprehensive range of developmental and educational initiatives undertaken by ILA, along with the sense of urgency and purpose it continues to inject into the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, are unique among insolvency-focused in-country organizations that I have observed anywhere. As its accomplishments multiply and its good work is promoted actively around the world, I daresay that ILA will become a model for how insolvency professionals in other developed and developing nations can light the fire for advancement and reform of insolvency systems to meet the needs of their own economies.
On behalf of III, I am honored by the opportunity to join all of you here in Hyderabad to observe a portion of the work of ILA first-hand, and to learn more about the dynamic growth of India, its economy, and the legal and financial systems that it requires.
At the same time, I invite all of you to become a part of the international insolvency world, to visit our III website at iiiglobal.org, access our online materials, join for our podcasts and webinars, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future attend one of our Annual or Regional Meetings at a rotating series of venues around the world. All of those meetings are open to members and non-members, and in particular our upcoming Annual Meetings in June of each year are in Montreal Canada in 2026 and Dublin Ireland in 2027.
I am delighted to be here in Hyderabad at Sumant’s invitation, and excited to meet and exchange ideas and perspectives with so many of you whom I will meet in person for the first time. On behalf of III, I am most excited to express our strong support for the efforts of ILA, and all of you, in pursuit of the vision of Viksit Bharat.
