ABSTRACT
In the previous Chapter the possible alternatives to the liquidation of an insolvent bank were considered, and this Chapter continues with the insolvency theme by providing an examination of the legal processes which are available when there is no possibility of avoiding a winding up. The Chapter also includes an examination of the potential use of provisional liquidation as an alternative to winding up. Under English law, a bank which is to be liquidated is treated in the same manner as any other type of company and the winding up provisions in the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) will apply. Most other western jurisdictions have laws which contain special provisions for the winding up of banks but this is not something, which has ever been a feature of U.K. corporate insolvency law.1 The possible advantages of allowing banks to be liquidated under special provisions, either in the banking laws of the country or on the basis of special provisions in the general insolvency laws, do not appear to have been given any serious consideration in the U.K., despite the review of insolvency law undertaken by the Cork Committee. It is beyond the scope of this work to discuss this aspect in detail but it is arguable that much can be learned from an examination of bank insolvency procedures in other jurisdictions.2 What follows, therefore, is an examination of the liquidation provisions contained in the IA 1986 in the context of an insolvent bank.
