Resolution planning is the shorter, everyday name for banking resolution planning: the work of preparing, in advance, how a large bank or other financial firm could be restructured or wound down if it failed, without disorder in the financial system and without public money. The main entry describes the process, the authorities involved and the standards behind it.
The term is used most often for banks, but the same idea applies to insurers, central counterparties and other firms whose failure could harm the wider system. In the United States the plans that large banks submit are commonly called living wills. The plan is drawn up or assessed by the bank resolution authority, which also judges whether the firm is resolvable in practice.
Resolution planning is distinct from recovery planning, which the firm itself prepares to restore its finances while it is still a going concern. Resolution plans typically rely on bail-in of creditors, supported by requirements such as total loss-absorbing capacity.