Germany sees Basel III in 2013 despite U.S. reservations

BERLIN (Reuters) - The introduction of tougher global bank capital rules is not in danger and should go ahead during 2013, a German finance ministry spokeswoman said on Monday, playing down reservations expressed by the United States.

The tougher rules, known as Basel III, are the world's regulatory response to the 2007-09 financial crisis and would force banks to triple the amount of basic capital they hold in a bid to avoid future taxpayer bailouts.

They are meant to be phased in from January 2013 but U.S. regulators have recently cast doubt on the timeframe due to a flood of industry comments on the proposals.

Asked if Basel III was at risk, German finance ministry spokeswoman Marianne Kothe said: "No... An introduction of Basel III on January 1 is unlikely but the U.S. authorities expect it to happen during the course of 2013."

"Our view is unchanged, which is that the German government supports the quick implementation of Basel III, in Europe of course but also in the United States," she told a regular news conference. (Reporting by Stephen Brown, writing by Gareth Jones)