Olteanu, NBR: We have too few successful company debt restructuring stories

On the few examples of successful company debt restructuring, bankers and entrepreneurs have now turned into adversaries, and over-indebted companies are taking their problems to a point where their entering bankruptcy becomes inevitable.
"We are in a vicious circle, as a system. The too few successful restructuring stories are not encouraging us. Maybe more restructuring stories to be talked about would be helpful," said Bogdan Olteanu, NBR vice-governor in charge of the legal department of the institution, during the "Temporary stock ownership by lenders - a way of restructuring economic operators" seminar organised by the central bank.
So far, only the restructuring of Flanco retailer, which went insolvent last spring, was presented publicly.
At present, only 5% of the companies in default come to implement a financial turnaround plan, while the rest go directly toward bankruptcy, says Arin Stănescu, chairman of the National Union of Romania's Insolvency Practitioners. At present, over 20,000 insolvency cases are open.
"The number of insolvencies climbed in 2010 and it is likely to rise further in 2011. It is not earlier than 2012 that the number of insolvency cases will go down, once the economy recovers," Stănescu stated.