Too big to fail

“Too big to fail” is an economic concept that refers to the tendency of the public authorities to rescue from bankruptcy a bank or a financial institution whose fall would, supposedly, generate disastrous systemic consequences on the economy. These maneuvers are carried carried out through the known as “rescue plans”, which are usually financed with public money coming from taxpayers.

From the concept “Too big to fail” derives “Too big to jail”. The phrase in question is used, especially in the US, to designate those corporations and banks that are “Too big to fail” and also too important to be subjected to legal prosecution.