In view of preliminary lessons learnt from the global financial crisis since 2007, the paper develops a conceptual framework for the functional analysis of bank insolvency regimes and, against this background, analyses a package of reforms adopted in Germany in 2010

The goal of any financial regulatory system should be to enable well-functioning markets, which includes reducing the impact and frequency of financial institution failures that cause systemic risk. Any regulatory structure, however, inevitably involves tradeoffs. A policy that effectively...