A Study of the Procedures for Liquidating Bankrupt Banks (A Comparative Study of American and Iranian Legal Codes)

It was after the 1929 Great Recession in the United States that the world economy suffered heavy losses and Iranian officials began paying attention to the bankruptcy of the banks and its highly negative impacts on the national economy. Consequently, the lawmakers came to the conclusion that rules and regulations on bankruptcy of the commercial corporations are not sufficient for verifying bankruptcy of the banks – which are considered commercial corporations in kind. On this basis, the United States has tried to consider certain rules and regulations for bankruptcy of banks, thanks to their role in national economy and their differences from the commercial corporations. The bankruptcy code for banks and financial institutions in the United States is called Resolution Regime. It is the government’s legal framework that resolves a failed bank in an orderly way to prevent the collapse of financial markets and the country’s financial system, to continue key services by the banks and to prevent the burden of bankruptcy on the government and taxpayers. In Iranian law, the bankruptcy regime of the banks is not a hundred percent apart from the bankruptcy of the corporations. In case of the bankruptcy of a bank, the Trade Law rules and regulations on bankruptcy will be considered as general rules and other monetary and banking rules and regulations will be particular ones. In case of the silence of the particular laws, the general rules and regulations will be applicable in case of the bankruptcy of the banks. In U.S. law, liquidation is the last step to deal with a bankrupt bank, while in Iranian law - since there is no substitute method for liquidation - the bankrupt bank starts liquidation immediately after receiving the order of bankruptcy.