Fernando Cabrera is a lawyer and manager of Legal Services of the Commercial Defense League (Lideco). His name became better known when, from his position and from the institution that he is part of, he was appointed as the Trustee who was responsible for carrying out the case of Casa de Galicia.
The institution, which with 104 years of history entered the bankruptcy stage of liquidation of its assets, with the auctions of the properties began to close part of a path that began months ago, with the decision of Judge Leonardo Méndez, in December of the year 2021 that dictates the closure of the centenary mutualist. About his work, auctions, real estate, creditors and the Defense League that he is part of, Fernando Cabrera spoke with Diario La R.
– What opinion and observations do you have about the auction of the sanatorium structure of Casa de Galicia?
– We observe with pleasure what happened. We are very happy with the result of the auction. What we wanted to do is make it a process that would allow compliance with the provisions of Law No. 20,022, that is, to ensure the sanitatorial destination of the real estate. In this way, we created a system in which all those who were interested could appear, whether they were members of the National Integrated Health System (SNIS), and this did not have any requirements, because if they bought the sanatorium destiny was insured. And anyone who was not part of the system, but who accredited that they had a sanatorium background, could also participate. In other words, we didn’t want someone from another industry to come and buy. So, for that, it was determined that those who were not part of the system had to prove their health records 48 hours beforehand. Nobody showed up. Only a few made inquiries. With that, only those who were inside the SNIS were left. When we arrived at the place where the auction was taking place, 30 minutes before, there were many people, including almost all the members of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Circle. They were between 12 and 15 people. Then there were the representatives of the mutual insurance companies Universal and Cudam, who were there waiting for their lawyer, who was the proxy, to arrive. Citizens also attended only to observe the auction, which seems perfect to me. And on the other hand there were several journalists from different media. The auction began at 3:15 p.m., with only two interested parties who had registered (Círculo Católico y Universal – Cudam –jointly-). The base was US$ 12,800,000, it went up to 15 million dollars and then the Catholic Circle offered US$ 15,300,000. The auctioneer Héctor Bavastro tried to increase the figure. He even told the members of Universal if they didn’t want to offer US$50 thousand more, but they stood up to US$15 million and it was taken by the Catholic Circle for US$15,300,000.
– Was the figure reached within the forecasts or were you surprised?
We had a little expectation that a bid could be given. We established that minimum floor of 12.8 million dollars but deep down we believed that there could be a bid and several offers. I didn’t think it would exceed $15 million. I thought it was going to be around US$14 million, or a little more than that figure. But the amount reached is welcome.
– Did the buyer finally pay the deposit at the time and meet all the requirements?
Yes. That was integrated. That’s how it went.
– In the next few days, will other real estate properties that were used by Casa de Galicia be auctioned?
Yes, on Monday the 20th. They will also be auctioned by Bavastro. They are goods that are auctioned separately. There are six lots and it should be clarified that anyone can buy it for another purpose. There it is different from the auction of the central sanatorium structure. We have already had and have interested in real estate. There are even people who have attended to observe some of them.
– Are there interested parties from other mutual insurance companies or institutions linked to health?
We have had everything. From mutualists and people who have no relationship with mutualists. There are cases of interested parties who are individuals, and on the other hand, companies.
– The Sindicatura, what expectations do you have with the auction of those other properties?
– We believe that for some of these properties, due to their location, there will be a bid and interesting sums can be obtained and achieved. I think, personally, that some are not going to be bought by a mutualist. I believe that some of the properties can be acquired by a company that is of another category. I think that is what is going to happen. There are goods that go together with furniture for medical and polyclinic use, but it will be a loss for whoever buys it. But in general, I think there are locations in geographical locations that are very attractive for certain companies.
– The money collected in the auctions, how is it divided and distributed among the creditors?
– With these amounts obtained, we will be able to pay the so-called post-bankruptcy credits, that is, those after November 18, 2021. These are the dismissal credits, which will surely be greater than the money obtained in all the auctions. So, it will not be possible to cancel everything, but it will be possible to cancel pro rata. For their part, all workers will receive the same part of their dismissal. That is, the percentage that is going to be the same percentage for everyone. And that is independent of the working time that the person has had in the institution. A person reaches a total, and from that total the same percentage will be applied to all. It doesn’t matter if the number is different. What is equal is the percentage. In such a way that those who have a higher credit, because they had either a higher salary or more seniority, will be receiving more. There are also the credits that correspond to the mortgagee.
– What conclusions do you and the Defense League have left after taking charge of this Casa de Galicia process?
– Despite this process of Casa de Galicia, which at times was traumatic, it had the collaboration of the different powers of the State to be able to carry it forward. We cannot forget that here there was a law approved by the vast majority of Parliament, in each Chamber, and there it is allowed that from February, which is when the liquidation is defined, we are now in June doing the liquidation of most of the active. In 60 days we will be able to be making the payments, which means doing it in limited terms for what bankruptcy proceedings are in this country. There are much simpler bankruptcy processes, and with fewer assets that take much longer to process.
– What is the role and role of the Trade Defense League in our society?
– The Commercial Defense League (Lideco) is a civil association founded in 1915. Its anniversary is April 15. That was a year in which there was an epidemic of fraudulent bankruptcies and concordats, then a group of merchants split from another business group and founded the Commercial League as a way to combat those fraudulent arrangements that were made to the detriment of the creditors. And so it was born, with the purpose of ensuring ethics, loyalty and business correctness. Today it has among its partners the companies of the country, including banks. Companies of different sizes, from the financial, commercial, industrial and services fields. We have agreements with shopping centers in the interior of the country, which allows us to also work with SMEs. And he acts, in these cases, as trustee because he is registered on a list that the Judiciary has, which has 30 regulars and can have up to 30 alternates, among whom the judge chooses which trustee is going to act in each case. La Liga also has an area that provides credit information, that is, it functions as a credit bureau. That is by way of summary what the League is.
