In this essay, I discuss the rise and fall of regulatory competition in corporate insolvency law in the European Union. The rise is closely associated with the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR, 2002), and it is well-documented. The UK has emerged as the ‘market leader’, especially for corporate restructurings.
The fall is about to happen, triggered by a combination of factors: the recasting of the EIR (2017), the European Restructuring Directive (ERD, 2019) and Brexit (2019). The UK will lose its dominant market position. I present evidence to support this hypothesis.
We contribute to the debate about the future of capital markets and corporate finance, which has ensued against the background of a significant boom in...