Bank‐led restructuring in Poland (II): bankruptcy and its alternatives

Abstract
Poland's 1993 Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Programme (EBRP) provided for the resolution of problem loans through bank‐led or court‐led workouts, liquidation, or loan sales. This paper examines the workings of three traditional exit processes ‐ court‐led conciliation, bankruptcy, and state enterprise liquidation. Neither bankruptcy nor court conciliation as currently designed gives creditors in Poland enough control over firsm in financial distress. Suggested improvements in design need to be complemented by strong economic policies that give banks and other creditors powerful incentives to use these debt collection mechanisms. The most problematic of the three exit routes is state enterprise liquidation, and although on paper designed for solvent firms, it is often used to get around bankruptcy and keep debtor management in control of assets for as long as possible. Now that the special bank conciliation process has expired as an option, Poland should shift its energies to improving traditional, broadly applicable exit and workout processes.

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