Historically, when a systemically important bank faced imminent failure, governments felt forced to execute taxpayer-funded Bail-outs to prevent a systemic financial collapse. This approach created significant moral hazard, as bank executives could pursue aggressive, high-risk strategies knowing that public funds would bear the costs if things went wrong.

Modern crisis management relies on formal bank resolution frameworks (such as the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive in Europe or Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States). These frameworks allow regulatory authorities to intervene in a failing institution, wind down its operations in a structured manner, and protect critical banking services without relying on public funds.