Bail-in as a Blunt Sword for Bailing-Out Banks? Restructuring and Resolution in the European Banking Union

On 24 September 2015 the German Bundestag approved the law on the resolution mechanism for the implementation of the Standard resolution mechanism for banks. This aims to provide the euro area with an improved set of legal instruments with which to restructure or liquidate distressed banks. In the opinion of Sarah Zech, GSK Stockmann + Kollegen, Munich, and Bernd Rudolph, University of Munich, these resolution powers mark an major step in addressing the too-big-to-fail-problems of banks.