Hopes dampened over European bank supervisor

on 03/09/2012 09:11:03

Germany's finance minister has said a new Europe-wide banking supervisor is unlikely to be up and running in the new year, dampening hopes that stressed banks could soon tap available rescue funds directly.

The European Commission will make proposals for a new supervisory system on September 12. Internal market commissioner Michel Barnier said last week he hopes it could be phased in starting next January and be extended to all banks in the eurozone at the beginning of 2014.

In June, EU leaders agreed to a bailout set-up which could allow indebted governments to funnel money directly to ailing banks - rather than via governments, which would add to their debt burden - once an effective central bank supervision system is established.

Mr Barnier voiced hopes that banks could be helped directly from the 500 billion euro (£396 billion) European Stability Mechanism, Europe's planned permanent bailout fund, starting in January.

However, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was sceptical about whether the new system would start work next year.

"I think that's pretty unrealistic," he said on Deutschlandfunk radio.

"I have my doubts that it will come so quickly, and so I think that once again expectations are being created here that can't be fulfilled, not even close.

"That is always a reason for trouble and nervousness in the financial markets."

Berlin and Brussels already appear at odds on the extent of the new supervisor's powers.

Mr Barnier has argued that all banks need to be supervised centrally by the European Central Bank (ECB); Germany argues that the supervisor should limit its focus to major banks whose stability is vital to Europe's financial security.

Germany insists that, if the supervisory job is handed to the ECB, decision-making on banking supervision and monetary policy must be strictly separated.

The ECB is currently working on plans for a bond-buying programme aimed at lowering the borrowing costs of debt-ridden governments, including Spain and Italy.

ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to detail a new approach after the monthly meeting of the bank's governing council on Thursday.

The plans are controversial in Germany, which is the biggest backer of Europe's financial rescue efforts. The country's national central bank, the Bundesbank, and its head, Jens Weidmann, opposes a big escalation in the ECB's bond-buying strategy.

They argue that it risks breaching the EU treaty provision barring the ECB from directly backing governments.

German chancellor Angela Merkel, however, has indicated she is open to the ECB's plans while still insisting that she wants Mr Weidmann to have as much influence as possible at the bank.

Mr Schaeuble stressed that the government respects the independence of the ECB and the Bundesbank. He cautioned against raising "wrong expectations" and expressed confidence that the ECB will not exceed its mandate.

"There must be no decisions - we would consider them completely wrong, they would not be covered by the mandate of the European Central Bank, but the European Central Bank won't do that - that would amount to government debt being financed through monetary policy," he said.