European Union finance ministers have made little progress on how to apply new global standards on banking capital and liquidity. The 27 ministers and the EU’s banking authorities are still divided on how much capital the banks must set aside to cushion losses. How much freedom individual countries will have to enforce the rules is at the heart of the debate.
The UK and Sweden - which have relatively large banking sectors - fear they could end up bailing out banks in other countries. Spanish banks want a deal that will help them out of their recession-led crisis. An agreement isn’t expected to be reached quickly.
(L-R) Sweden's Finance Minister Anders Borg, Ireland's Finance Minister Michael
Noonan and Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos smile as Poland's Finance
Minister Jacek Vincent-Rostowski looks at his mobile phone at a European Union
finance ministers meeting in Brussels May 2, 2012.
Denmark - the current holder of the EU presidency - hopes to have a consensus by the end of June and a working deal by the end of the year. But with many European governments facing elections including France and Greece in the coming weeks, this looks optimistic.
中国公共网摘编:GAN JADE |