BRUSSELS (MNI) – French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici stressed
the importance of coming to an agreement on banking supervision at
Tuesday’s Ecofin, adding that all banks should fall under the single
supervisory mechanism within the European Central Bank.

The banking supervisory mechanism should apply to “all banks in the
European Union”, including the smaller institutions, Moscovici told
reporters on his way to an Ecofin meeting here on Tuesday. “Because the
problems in Europe, contrary to what we think, didn’t come solely or
mainly from systemically important banks,” he said.

Moscovici’s comments echo those of Bank of France Governor
Christian Noyer, who said in a newspaper interview that a banking union
would be “useless” unless it covered all banks.

It is “our wish” to have all banks fall under the “final
responsibility” of the ECB,” Moscovici said. “That is what counts now.”

Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg reiterated his position that a
“firewall” would be needed to separate monetary policy and supervision
and that a treaty change should be considered.

“My preferred solution is equality [among all European members] and
also a firewall,” Borg said. “If that could be created inside of the
current treaty, that is fine with me. But, to my mind, given that we
have Paragraph 127 in the Treaty … it’s quite clear that we are
discussing a technical treaty change. And if that’s a viable option, I
think is should be undertaken.”

Also speaking to reporters here, Austrian Finance Minister Maria
Fekter said it was key that a single supervisor for the Eurozone set the
guidelines for monitoring banks, even if the existing capacity of
national authorities should still be relied on for the “operational”
supervision of smaller banks on the ground.

At a minimum all banks in the Eurozone should supervised “by the
same rules and by the same methods,” Fekter said. “Who then actually
comes and does the examination doesn’t matter here.”

Moscovici also commented on the intention of Luxembourg Prime
Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to step down as leader of the Eurogroup of
EMU finance ministers this year or in early 2013.

“We need to first of all honour him because he created this
function,” Moscovici said. The French finance minister added that “there
is time” to find a replacement for Juncker when he steps down.

— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@mni-news.com —

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