Brussels, 15/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU27 finance ministers reached broad agreement on Tuesday 15 May on the CRD IV (capital requirements directive) draft legislation to incorporate into EU rules the Basel Committee's Basel III Agreement on bank capital requirements - rules that apply to Europe's more than 8,000 banks (see EUROPE10607). “With the directive the EU is putting itself at the front among the large economies in the G20 in terms of implementing the global banking standards”, welcomed Danish Economy Minister Margrethe Vestager in a press release.
The United Kingdom has welcomed the introduction of an amendment to allow application of the Vickers rule to separate off retail and investment banking in the UK. Italy is not happy about the demand to be allowed to introduce tougher rules at national level serving as an attack on the single market. The main issue to be settled was the degree of flexibility to be granted to countries wanting to introduce their own capital requirements in addition to banks registered in their country and this question is likely to raise its head again in the talks with the European Parliament. Adopting the Karas Report on Monday 14 May (to which we will be returning), the EP's economic and monetary affairs committee called for the approach to be as EU-based as possible in order to protect the integrity of the single market. (MB/transl.fl)