Archive · 28 Nov 2025
India's Bankruptcy Code Shift: Financial Creditors Take Lead
In India, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is a law that helps companies that owe money to others.
For a long time, suppliers (called operational creditors) were the ones who most often started insolvency cases to get their money back.
But now, banks and other financial creditors are taking the lead.
This change happened because the government made it harder to start cases for small amounts, and banks learned how to use the IBC better.
Now, financial creditors are starting more cases, and they are also getting more of their money back compared to suppliers.
This shows that the IBC is becoming more effective for financial creditors.
Operational creditors were the primary initiators of insolvency cases until FY22, but financial creditors have since taken the lead.
In FY25, operational creditors accounted for 31% of insolvency cases, down from 59% in FY21.
Financial creditors now initiate the majority of insolvency proceedings, reflecting the maturation of the IBC.
The government's decision to raise the default threshold for IBC action to ₹1 crore in March 2020 contributed to the shift.
Financial creditors have a higher recovery rate (about a third of claims) compared to operational creditors (about a fourth of claims).
- Who
- Operational creditors, financial creditors, businesses, Reserve Bank of India
- What
- Shift in insolvency proceedings initiation from operational to financial creditors
- When
- Trend change started after FY22, with significant drop in operational creditor-initiated cases
- Where
- India
- Why
- Maturation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), increase in default threshold, and learning curve of financial creditors
- Operational Creditors' Share of Cases
- 31% in FY25, down from 59% in FY21
- Financial Creditors' Share of Cases
- 69% in FY25, up from 41% in FY21
- Self-Initiated Insolvency Cases
- 6% of 8,654 admitted cases
- RBI-Referenced Cases
- 5 cases
- Operational Creditors' Recovery Rate
- About a fourth of claims
- Financial Creditors' Recovery Rate
- About a third of claims
- Default Threshold for IBC Action
- ₹1 crore (raised from ₹1 lakh in March 2020)