Bank resolution and insolvency law: interactions and frictions

The aim of this article is to make a first pass at highlighting and summarising the main interactions between bank resolution and insolvency law, which sometimes result in frictions. The roots of these frictions lie in the different objectives of the two legal frameworks and the different interests that they aim to protect. Paradoxically, despite these frictions, resolution authorities in the European Union must apply the national insolvency law, which is still not harmonised at European level. And they must do so not only in the event of resolution, but also counterfactually, in ex post and ex ante situations, with respect to key issues (grounds for resolution, creditor protection and creditor hierarchy) that are either incompletely or too broadly regulated under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. In the absence of specific rules, this article aims to shed light on the main interpretative tensions between the rules that are applicable in resolution and their insolvency counterparts.