Looking beyond this particular case, one thing is clear: while the use of public funds will be made more difficult under the new resolution rules and will only be permitted subject to compliance with certain criteria, it has not been taken off the table completely.
Yet the fact that government aid was provided to as many as three of the first four banks to run into difficulties cannot be in the interest of European legislators. Our resolution regime should be measured against how effectively it shields national taxpayers – and I firmly believe that this should also be the goal of national insolvency law as well.