01 May 2012

Danish Presidency: New rules for capital requirements aim at securing healthy banks in Europe

On May 2, the EU's finance and economy ministers are to discuss the proposal for new EU rules on capital requirements for banks – one of the most important initiatives in securing healthy banks in the aftermath of the crisis.

One of the main priorities of the Danish Presidency is to achieve agreement on the new EU rules on capital requirements for banks during the first half of 2012. The aim of the new rules is to make the European financial sector more resilient in light of the experiences from the financial crisis. The new rules translate the new global standards (“Basel III”) into EU legislation. The rules imply extensive regulation, including more and better capital in the banks, the possibility to impose different, temporary additional requirements for banks to ensure financial stability and elements of good corporate governance, and a tightening of the requirements for the member states’ sanctions towards non-complying institutions.

Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior, Margrethe Vestager, says: “The Danish Presidency attaches great importance to the extensive work of strengthening the regulation of banks in light of the financial crisis. It is important for growth and employment that we have healthy banks. I hope we can reach agreement on new EU rules on capital requirements for banks. This is a very important lesson from the crisis. I see a strong willingness to compromise but the countries have very different opinions."

At the meeting, the Danish Presidency and the Commission will report on the G20 meeting and the IMF’s spring meeting that took place in Washington 19-22 April 2012, where the Danish Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior represented the EU at the G20 meeting and the Nordic-Baltic Constituency at the IMF’s ministerial advisory committee (IMFC). The most important result from the meetings is the decision to increase the IMF’s resources by more than $430 billion, enabling the IMF to play a stronger role in safeguarding global economic and financial stability.

Press release

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