Bank Receivership and Conservatorship

In the past quarter century, legal and economic distinctions surrounding the viability of depository institutions have become increasingly blurred. Changes enacted since 1987 have made it particularly difficult for the casual observer to detect differences among the three forms of insolvency resolution: receiverships, conservatorships, and bridge banks. This article provides a history of regulatory and statutory responses to failing banks, with special focus on recent changes, including depositor preference legislation, that have had unintended and still-uncertain consequences.