Mette Kurth: 2nd Circuit Reverses Course on Cramdown Interest Rates

On her The Bottom Line 11 blog, Fox partner Mette Kurth examined a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision in In re MPM Silicones (the Momentive case). The court followed the lead of the Sixth Circuit in establishing a two-step approach to setting the cramdown interest rate on debtor payments for secured claims:

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A simple proposition—that secured lenders are entitled to receive payments with a present value at least equal to the amount of their claim—has proven surprisingly difficult to apply as courts have pondered whether to follow a “formula approach” or a “market approach” to establish an appropriate “cramdown” interest rate. (A primer is available here if you are new to the debate.)

Secured lenders have scored a significant win in the recent Second Circuit decision in the Momentive case, In re MPM Silicones. Siding with the Sixth Circuit, the Second Circuit has decided that the prevailing market rate for comparable debt should be used—if there is an efficient market for such debt—and that the formula approach should be used only if no efficient market exists.

To read Mette’s full rundown of the decision and its impact, please visit her blog. Mette also provides background on cramdown interest rates in a separate post.