STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The European Union is able to move quickly to preserve confidence in banks if needed, but should make the system even more resilient, European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday.
He spoke at a news conference after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers who discussed the lessons to be draw from the recent bank turbulence in the U.S. and Switzerland.
“The recent turbulence in the banking system has underlined the importance of strong risk management and effective regulation and supervision,” Gentiloni said.
“Events in the US support the EU’s choice to apply the Basel prudential standards to all our banks, not just the largest ones,” he said. “We are able to act credibly and swiftly to preserve confidence whenever needed.”
The Commission presented last week a proposal to include more, also smaller banks, in the EU’s bank resolution framework that shields taxpayers from paying the costs of resolving failing banks. “We must continue to work to make our financial system even more resilient.”
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski)
