Ranking of unsecured debt instruments in insolvency hierarchy

Key points:

The EESC

• welcomes the Commission's proposal to amend the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) to establish a harmonised national ranking of unsecured debt instruments in insolvency proceedings.
• reminds of its previously adopted position that in the event of a bank crisis, it is essential that the private capital of shareholders and other bank creditors be called on in the first instance ("bail-in"), in order to avoid the need to call on public money or taxpayer funds.
• fears that recent development resulting in Member States legislating individually in this area may give rise to difficulties and calls for a harmonised approach at EU level, so that the same BRRD rules apply everywhere. This will prevent undesirable competition in the market.
• deems a harmonised approach important in order to create a more level playing field between institutions and Member States and to reduce risks in the financial sector.
• welcomes the fact that the proposal contributes to the robustness of the resolution mechanism and, at the same time, improves and may speed up its operational applicability.
• finds that the new rules should not only facilitate and broaden as far as possible the issuance of the unsecured debt instruments in question, but also offer the greatest possible clarity and legal certainty to all parties, including investors.
• supports the proposed approach whereby the new rules are only applied to future issuances of the debt instruments.