A comprehensive, open-source catalogue of bank failures, bail-ins, nationalisations, and forced restructurings worldwide. Free to use, properly sourced.
| Bank ▸ | Country ▸ | Date ▸ | Type ▸ | Assets ($B) ▸ | Cause | Resolution | Source |
|---|
Source: Laeven & Valencia (2018) IMF WP/18/206, updated with 2020s events
| Country | Year | Fiscal Cost (% GDP) | Resolution Approach | Key Lesson |
|---|
Primary Sources: FDIC Failed Bank List (US, 573 failures), IMF Laeven & Valencia Systemic Banking Crises Database (151 crises globally), Single Resolution Board case studies (EU), Bank of England resolution cases, FINMA (Switzerland), central bank publications.
Secondary Sources: S&P Global Ratings annual default studies, Moody's Corporate Default and Recovery Rates studies, BIS Financial Stability Reports, Yale Journal of Financial Crises case studies, European Commission State Aid decisions.
Definition of Distress: We include six types of bank distress events: (1) Failure — bank closed by regulator; (2) Bail-in — creditor losses imposed under resolution framework; (3) Nationalisation — government takes ownership; (4) Forced Merger — regulator compels acquisition; (5) Rescue — government capital injection or guarantee; (6) Liquidation — bank wound down.
Quality Tags: Each event carries a source attribution tag: [VERIFIED] for data from official regulatory/government publications, [ESTIMATED] for data from credible news sources or academic papers.
Limitations: Bank distress outside the US is often resolved through informal intervention (quiet capital injection, management replacement, forced merger) that may not be publicly disclosed. This database captures publicly documented events and may undercount quiet resolutions, particularly in emerging markets.
Updates: This database is maintained as part of the FI-Sim Credit Module. It is updated as new events occur and as historical events are verified against additional sources. Contributions and corrections are welcome via GitHub.
Citation: If you use this database in research or analysis, please cite: FI-Sim Global Bank Distress Database, v1.0, 2026. Available at [URL].
Licence: This database is released as a public good. It is free to use for research, education, and commercial purposes with attribution.