For many companies facing financial stress, restructuring liabilities is the only way for their business to survive. Consensual restructuring, or voluntary workout, requires agreement from creditors to reorganise the company’s liabilities, and is typically implemented by agreement between the company and its creditors. Court-based restructuring processes, on the other hand, involve at least some degree of legal coercion of creditors to vary or release liabilities.

DSB Bank (DSB), a small Dutch lender, has been declared bankrupt on 19 October 2009. Other Dutch banks will now have to guarantee DSB's deposits. The Dutch central bank said on 19 October 2009 that it had activated the national deposit guarantee system to deal with the bankruptcy, and that it expects eligible depositors to be reimbursed by Christmas. The banks will have to pay into the guarantee system in proportion to their market share.