MPs concerned by "overambitious" EU plans for banking reform

A committee of MPs has warned that EU plans for wide-reaching reforms of the banking system are being rushed through.

Responding to the European Commission’s recent proposals for new financial regulation, the Treasury Committee said that the relatively brief timescale allocated to implementing the reforms is ’overambitious’.

The EU hopes to rubber-stamp the proposals, which include the establishment of a European Systemic Risk Board and new ’super-regulators’ to work across the European banking sector, by early December.

’While the intention of the European proposals is widely welcomed, there is a great deal of unease about the detail, both within our committee and from the evidence we received from outside,’ said committee chairman John McFall.

’There is still more unease about the timetable for agreement.’

Another concern is that the new system would give too much power to European regulators, who would be able to overturn decisions made at national level.

Last week, official statistics showed that the eurozone is now officially out of recession, having recorded economic growth of 0.4 per cent between July and September.
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