Chief Rabbi Amar Bans Debt Settlement Haircuts - Globes

I just saw this small article from Globes:

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar yesterday issued an unprecedented Halakhic ruling against debt settlements involving sharp discounts (haircuts) by the controlling shareholders and executives of financial institutions. At a press conference with the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Rabbi Amar said that controlling shareholders should bear the costs of heavy losses. The Halakhic ruling also bans cross-ownership.

Rabbi Amar's ruling states that executives and controlling shareholders of large companies should take responsibility for the financial losses caused to the public, and that controlling shareholders and money managers cannot evade this responsibility even if they were negligent and without bad faith.

Rabbi Amar also banned investment in institutions owned by them, or in affiliated institutions; i.e. he banned cross ownership.

For more articles on Business and Halacha regarding bankruptcy and corporate structures see these:

• "Bankruptcy: A Halakhic Perspective"
  Rabbi Yitzchok A. Breitowitz
• "Bankruptcy - A Viable Halachic Option?"
  Steven H. Resnicoff
• "A Jewish Law Perspective on the Propriety of Discharging Personal Debts"
  Prof. Steven H. Resnicoff
• "Jewish Law and Modern Business Structures: The Corporate Paradigm"
  Michael J. Broyde & Steven H. Resnicoff
• http://www.businesshalacha.com/hotline-articles/limited-liability

Israel Company Formation and Registration

The following is a translation from the instructions on the website of the Registrar of Companies of how to register a company in Israel:

In order to register a company in Israel, you must submit to the Registrar of Companies, the following documents:

1.       Company bylaws (Article 8 of the Companies Law)

A.     The bylaws shall include the following information (Article 18):

                                                                 i.      The company name - A company may register any name in accordance with paragraphs 26 to 31 of the Companies Law.

a.       If the name is invalid and must be changed, it cannot be changed by simply updating the bylaws.