18/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - Six month extension for Portuguese systems. On 17 December, the European Commission authorised the extension until 30 June 2013 of a guarantee scheme for credit institutions in Portugal. The Portuguese guarantee scheme was initially approved on 29 October 2008 and prolonged since then for periods of six months. It also approved the extension until the same date of the recapitalisation measure for Portuguese banks, which aims to ensure the banks' compliance with requirements on own fund regulations. These authorisations were extended in an effort to rectify the current upsets in the Portuguese economy and ensure the country's banks access to funding on the markets. (FG/transl.fl)