New National Solutions for Bank Failures: Game-changing in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands?

Abstract

This article discusses the special bank insolvency laws that have been enacted in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands since the onset of the global financial crisis. By 1 January 2015, the national regimes had to be adjusted to new European bank insolvency rules. Yet we believe these common European rules will fail to eliminate some significant differences between national bank insolvency regimes. Moreover, the new European rules will not prevent governments from resolving big banks along territorial lines if not by nationalization.