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11/15/13

Germany Digs In Against Risk Sharing in EU Bank-Failure Plan - by Rebecca Christie and Rainer Buergi

Germany argued against a joint backstop for struggling euro-area banks as European finance ministers renewed their debate on how to handle the costs of managing failed lenders.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called on his colleagues to rein in their ambitions for the Single Resolution Mechanism proposed by the European Commission, which includes a common fund filled by levies on the financial industry. While an agreement is unlikely today, it can be achieved by year-end as long as among European Union member states don’t insist on a joint fund immediately, he said.

“It’s not disputed in principle that we need a European fund,” Schaeuble told reporters yesterday at the start of two days of talks in Brussels. “A fund needs a levy” on banks, “but the levy needs a clear legal basis. There are different opinions on that, but if you want a safe legal basis, you’d better take the safe route.”

Finance ministers are racing to meet a year-end deadline to reach a common position on the bank-failure plan so that a final agreement on the legislation with the European Parliament is possible before the assembly stops work before elections in May. The European Central Bank, which takes over euro-area financial supervision next year, wants a European resolution mechanism in place as soon as possible after it begins oversight.

Read more: Germany Digs In Against Risk Sharing in EU Bank-Failure Plan - SFGate

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