English Right of Set-Off and Combination in the Circumstance of Insolvency

The right of combination and set-off, as developed under English law offer a number of safeguards to banks and creditors in general. These rights were expanded under the principles that they were necessary to effect substantial justice and that they would stimulate economic growth and trade. In the following paper, I suggest that the judicial application of these rights has tended to unfairly favor banks at the expense of the individual customer, which may initially stimulate growth by encouraging banks to provide loans, but in the long-term may serve to deteriorate trade, particularly at the international level. Customers in other countries, particularly civil law countries, experience much more risk when they do business with an English bank, and hence may be better off refraining from bringing their enterprises there, or at any rate must be extremely careful in drawing...
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