Shareholder loan – Legal and Financial Aspects

Magistrsko delo zajema nabor pravnih in ekonomskih vprašanj, vezanih na 498. člen Zakona o gospodarskih družbah, ki ureja posojilo družbenika družbi namesto lastnega kapitala (kapitalsko posojilo). Konflikt interesov med lastniki in upniki, ki nastopi v primeru finančnih težav podjetja, narekuje, da upnikom zagotovimo posebno varstvo pred ravnanji lastnika, ki niso skladna z njegovo dolgoročno vlogo v strukturi virov financiranja podjetja. Ker je slovenska ureditev kapitalskega posojila povzeta po zastareli nemški ureditvi, je pomemben element magistrske naloge tudi primerjalnopravna analiza instituta, ki nakaže na možne alternative trenutni ureditvi in s tem na več možnih pristopov k urejanju treh ključnih elementov instituta, namreč pojmov družbenik, finančna kriza in posojilo. V okviru identifikacije družbenika v smislu 498. člena ZGD-1 ugotavljam, da je za uresničitev namena člena ključno, da le-ta velja tudi za horizontalne transakcije med sestrskimi družbami, nad katerimi družbenik izvaja prevladujoč vpliv. Ključni element člena, je stanje finančne krize podjetja. Ugotavljanje slednje je nestandardiziran proces, ki je v praksi sicer izvedljiv preko t. i. Testa kreditne sposobnosti, vodi pa lahko do nasprotujočih si rezultatov. To potrjuje tudi empirična analiza, opravljena med bankami, ki delujejo v slovenskem bančnem sektorju. Široko razumevanje posojila in njegovih gospodarskih ustreznikov v smislu 498. člena ZGD-1 vodi do nekaterih neživljenjskih rešitev, ki ustvarjajo napačne vzpodbude. Slednje še zlasti velja v primeru zavarovanih posojil družbenika ter v primerih izvensodnih finančnih prestrukturiranj podjetij. Posledično zaključujem, da je smiselno razmisliti o dopolnitvi ali spremembi zakonodaje.The master\u27s thesis deals with an array of legal and economic issues, related to the Article 498 of the Slovenian Companies Act, which governs shareholder loans and their treatment in insolvency procedures. The conflict of interest between shareholders and creditors, which arises when a company faces financial difficulties points to the need to protect the creditors from inequitable actions of shareholders, which are inconsistent with their long-term role in the company\u27s capital structure. Slovenian rules on shareholder loans are based on the since-reformed German Act on Limited Liability Company. Therefore, a comparative analysis was performed to point at possible alternative legislative approaches to defining the key elements of the legal concept, namely the terms shareholder, financial crisis and loan. To effectively fulfill the purpose of the legal construct, the term shareholder must be understood so it includes horizontal transactions between connected companies, which are controlled by the same shareholder. The key issue of Art. 498. ZGD-1 is defining whether at the time when a shareholder granted a loan, the company was in financial crisis. Defining the state of financial crisis is a non-standard process, which, although practical to execute through performance of the Creditworthiness test, can lead to contradictory results. This view is confirmed by the empirical analysis, performed amongst banks operating in the Slovenian banking sector. Broad understanding of loans, which qualify as shareholder loans in terms of Art. 498 ZGD-1 leads to several impractical outcomes, especially when it comes to secured shareholder loans and treatment of shareholder loans in corporate restructurings. There are thus several substantial issues, which call for a change or an amendment of the existing legislation