EU delays stricter bank state aid rules

Stricter European Union rules controlling state aid for banks will be delayed beyond the end of 2011, extending the exemptions given to governments seeking to rescue stricken financial groups.

Joaquin Almunia, EU Competition Commissioner, said on the 15 September 2011 that 'it would not be safe' to press ahead with tightening the special regime for the financial sector introduced during 2008 crisis.

The decision comes amid an increasingly tense debate between member states and EU officials over whether the capital buffers of Europe’s big banks should be bolstered in light of the sovereign debt crisis.

ESO: Background information: EU nations win a year’s reprieve on state aid http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-nations-win-a-years-reprieve-on-state-aid/

European Commission: DG Competition: Policy areas: Financial services http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/financial_services/overview_en.html

European Commission: DG Competition: State aid: State Aid control: State aid reform http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/reform/reform.html

European Commission: RAPID: SPEECH/11/577: Joaquín Almunia Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy State aid control as a resolution tool in the EU The Eurofi Financial Forum 2011 Wrocław, 15 September 2011 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/11/577&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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