Policing the system: EU leaders seal bank watchdog deal
Leaders cited “significant progress” on a $155 billion package of measures to try to kick start climb out of recession
BRUSSELS:
European leaders agreed Friday to police thousands of eurozone banks beginning next year as they sought to create much-needed jobs in their austerity-battered economies. By the close of a two-day summit, France and Germany had patched up differences over how to beat the debt crisis, with the new watchdog for 6,000 banks a key condition for allowing a dedicated rescue fund to re-float troubled lenders. Leaders cited “significant progress” on a 120-billion-euro ($155 billion) package of measures to try to kick start a climb out of recession as social and political unrest hits Spain as well as Greece. But the bank deal appeared to come too late for Spanish lenders, who need recapitalisation to the tune of some 40 billion euros that Madrid had hoped would not be added to its public debt burden for fear of sparking new pressures on money markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2012.
European leaders agreed Friday to police thousands of eurozone banks beginning next year as they sought to create much-needed jobs in their austerity-battered economies. By the close of a two-day summit, France and Germany had patched up differences over how to beat the debt crisis, with the new watchdog for 6,000 banks a key condition for allowing a dedicated rescue fund to re-float troubled lenders. Leaders cited “significant progress” on a 120-billion-euro ($155 billion) package of measures to try to kick start a climb out of recession as social and political unrest hits Spain as well as Greece. But the bank deal appeared to come too late for Spanish lenders, who need recapitalisation to the tune of some 40 billion euros that Madrid had hoped would not be added to its public debt burden for fear of sparking new pressures on money markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2012.