The plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday 23 September confirmed the position adopted by the parliamentary committee, that the finalisation of the 'Basel III' reform must not lead to any significant increase of the overall capital requirements for banks.
The MEPs lay emphasis on two principles: firstly, the reform currently under discussion at international level must not significantly increase the overall capital requirements and, at the same time, must reinforce the overall financial position of European banks. Secondly, the revision should promote a level playing field at international level by attenuating – rather than exacerbating – the differences between jurisdictions and commercial models and not unduly penalising the European banking model.
The criticism of Parliament comes on top of that expressed by the Commission, the ECB and European finance ministers. This position was also expressed the same day by the Vice-President of the European Commission with responsibility for Financial Affairs, Latvia's Valdis Dombrovskis, at the presentation of his banking package (see other article). He subsequently called on the future American administration, under the leadership of Donald Trump, to resist the temptation of deregulating. "We expect our international partners to stick with the globally agreed standards", he said.
"The methods to measure the risks proposed by the Basel Committee would put a disproportional strain on European banks. This must not happen because European banks will remain the financiers of Europe's real economy", said Germany's Burkhard Balz of the EPP, the originator of the legislative resolution voted upon on Wednesday. The Basel Committee is to meet in Santiago, Chile, on 28 and 29 November. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)