BERLIN (MNI) – The German government believes it is important that
the Basel III bank capital rules be implemented in the European Union in
due time, a senior government official said Thursday.
“The financial markets are watching us, thus, it is important to
implement [Basel III] convincingly,” the source said. “This will help us
win back further confidence and achieve more stability on markets.”
The official said he was confident that the 27 EU member states and
the European Parliament would agree on the matter by the end of June.
EU finance ministers at their meeting in Brussels failed to agree
on a common position on legislation designed to implement the Basel III
rules, despite talks that ran into the early hours of Thursday. The
ministers postponed the target date for a deal to May 15.
Under a compromise text drafted by Denmark, the current holder of
the EU Council’s rotating presidency, national authorities would be able
to impose an additional capital requirement of 5% on banks’ domestic and
non-EU exposures and a capital surcharge of up to 3% on their total
exposure.
According to the draft amendments, EU finance ministers would be
given the final say on whether such decisions should be allowed, but
they would examine the issue only if objections are raised by the
European Banking Authority, the European Systemic Risk Board or the
European Commission.
EU Internal Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier blamed the UK for
blocking a final deal.
The German official said that Germany wants to reach an agreement
in consensus with all 27 member states because this would facilitate
EU-wide implementation.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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