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The 50 per cent nominal discount on the Greek debt is indeed a huge and exceptional effort that banks will make.
The EBF adds that the extra capitalisation of banks to a Core Tier 1 ratio of 9 per cent, estimated at some €108 billion, is another very substantial demand placed on banks, which goes beyond the initial challenging plans put forward by regulators.
The EBF insists that the measures adopted in the plan are not – and cannot be compared to – state aids. “It is not governments rescuing banks”, explained Christian Clausen, EBF President and CEO of Nordea Group. “It is the banking sector taking on an additional capital buffer. We will, nevertheless, continue to do our utmost to lend to households and enterprises despite the increasing capital requirements and costs”, he stressed. “Long-term stability and certainty about the new regulatory framework are pre-requisites for banks to play their part and enable growth and prosperity in Europe.”