(March 14, 2013) — The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has appointed Malcolm Weir as head of restructuring and insolvency to replace Richard Favier who is to step down in July.
The PPF acts as a lifeboat to bankrupt company pension funds, taking on the asset and liabilities cast adrift by the sinking sponsor.
Recoveries from insolvent employers are an important income stream for the fund. The PPF has collected about £1.4 billion in recoveries since it opened its doors for business in 2005, it said today. This may also involve negotiation with companies on the verge of insolvency.
The role’s job description on the PPF’s careers website said it would require the successful candidate “negotiating and agreeing the basis on which schemes will enter a PPF assessment period where the employer’s business undergoes a restructuring rather than a conventional insolvency,” and “exercising scheme creditor rights in conventional insolvencies”.
This last point indicates the PPF’s right to reclaim assets to help cover future pension fund payments.
Favier, the current holder of the position, has been involved in high profile cases where the PPF has fought to take assets from employers claiming insolvency. One of the recent cases saw Favier travel to Canada with representatives from the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan in a bid to secure a large amount from international mediation.
The PPF’s Executive Director for Financial Risk, Martin Clarke, said: “This is a complex and important part of our business which is aimed at minimising the impact on levy payers of schemes entering the PPF.”
The PPF levy is charged to all employers operating a corporate defined benefit plan. It is calculated using various measures, including the level of risk in a pension’s portfolio.
Weir is currently head of corporate insolvency at Barclays Corporate and has lengthy experience in restructuring, reorganisation, and corporate recovery, the PPF said today.
Yesterday, the government-created agency announced its year-long search for a CIO had ended with the appointment of Barry Kenneth, currently a managing director at Morgan Stanley.
From a standing start in 2005, the PPF’s assets have grown to £13 billion through investment returns, levy payments, and legacy assets of schemes entering its protection.
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