Changes to the "SIREVE" and the "PER"

In compliance with what was agreed with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund under the 11th Regular Revision of the Programme of Economic and Financial Assistance to Portugal, Decree-Law no. 26/2015 was published on 6 February of this year. Under this new law, the Government has implemented a set of long-awaited measures which have two principle objectives. The first is to create an environment more favourable to the approval of corporate recovery plans by introducing changes to the Sistema de Recuperação de Empresas por Via Extrajudicial ("SIREVE"), the Out-of-court System for Recovery of Companies, and to the Processo Especial de Revitalização ("PER"), the Special Revitalisation Process. The second is to create alternatives to bank financing, particularly by extending the options for financing through hybrid capital instruments and by revising the rules on issuing bonds.