European banks will help implement solutions
The European Banking Federation (EBF) welcomes the EU Member States' decisions towards financial stability and solving the current difficulties of the sovereign debts.
"European governments sent us a coherent message last night", declared Christian Clausen, EBF President and CEO of Nordea Group. "We will take on the responsibility to meet their expectations and support the implementation of the decisions. We hope that the solutions devised will help restore trust and confidence in the Eurozone. In this context, I would like to stress that this crisis is predominantly a sovereign debt crisis, not a banking crisis. We will, however, take our share of the burden, to restore trust and confidence in the markets."
The 50% nominal discount on the Greek debt is indeed a huge and exceptional effort that banks will make. The EBF adds that the extra capitalization of banks to a Core Tier 1 ratio of 9% , estimated at some EUR 108 billion, is another very substantial demand placed on banks, which goes beyond the initial challenging plans put forward by regulators.
"Banks will of course take the necessary steps to adapt to the extra capitalization requirements", said Clausen. "As banks, we will play our part in the general effort. We expect European governments to play theirs too, and to continue implementing budgetary consolidation and improving Eurozone governance."
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 Clausen. "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."
