Legal Business

Sponsored Q&A: Rutgers & Posch

1. Could you explain the key differences between secured and unsecured loans in the context of Dutch banking and finance transactions?

In a secured loan the payment obligations of the borrower are secured by security rights over assets of the borrower or a third party. In a bankruptcy scenario, a secured creditor can enforce these security rights as if there were no bankruptcy and in principle ranks ahead of all unsecured creditors subject to exceptions. Unsecured creditors rank pari passu in terms of payment with the claims of the borrower’s other unsecured creditors, have to submit their claims for verification with the bankruptcy trustee and cannot unilaterally enforce their claims as if there were no bankruptcy.