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EU unveils plans to wind down failed banks | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The European Commission has outlined plans for a single authority that will be responsible for winding down eurozone banks that get into trouble. | |
The blueprint for a "single resolution mechanism" was unveiled by EU commissioner Michel Barnier. | |
It may put the Commission on a collision course with Germany, which has argued that such an authority would be in breach of EU treaties. | |
The authority is part of wider plans for a European banking union. | The authority is part of wider plans for a European banking union. |
The banking union project is designed to prevent a repeat of the global banking crisis. | The banking union project is designed to prevent a repeat of the global banking crisis. |
Under the single resolution mechanism (SRM), a new authority will be given power to close or restructure any eurozone bank that runs into trouble. | |
This would override the decisions of authorities in individual EU states, which are currently in charge of closing failed banks. | |
Critics have warned that this could mean national governments being required to hand over taxpayers' money to help rescue banks. | |
'New uncertainty' | |
Under the SRM, a 55bn-euro ($70.5bn; £47.3bn) fund will be established, financed by levies on banks. As money is drawn from the fund to shore up banks, further levies would be imposed to top it up. | |
Mr Barnier insisted that the plan included safeguards to stop governments being forced to contribute taxpayers' money. | |
But Germany, the biggest economy in the eurozone, has voiced its objections to the creation of a single authority, arguing that it would require a new European treaty that may take years to agree. | |
On Tuesday, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, warned that the plan risked creating "new uncertainty in markets". | On Tuesday, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, warned that the plan risked creating "new uncertainty in markets". |
Speaking in Brussels, he said: "We have to stick to the given legal basis, as otherwise we risk major turbulence. | |
"I would strongly ask the Commission in its proposal for an SRM to be very careful, and to stick to the limited interpretation of the given treaty." |