Many businesses are—or soon will be—unable to meet their obligations. Not all businesses in distress are unsuccessful; sometimes, as in the economic circumstances arising from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the governmental directives tailored to address the related public health issues, even successful businesses must confront closures and steep declines in demand that could not have been anticipated, and may find it necessary or desirable to restructure their existing debt obligations.

The States of Jersey published a White Paper on a proposed statutory insolvency payments scheme (the "Scheme") on 3 December 2009, with a closing date for consultation responses of Friday 5 February 2010.

The White Paper states:

The Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 came into force on 6 November 2009, establishing a compensation scheme providing individual depositors with protection of up to £50,000 per person, per Jersey banking group, in the event of the bankruptcy of a Jersey bank.