European banks aim to delay capital reforms-FT
LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Europe's banks are lobbying to delay new rules on trading capital requirements and have privately warned that hasty reforms could harm lending, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified bankers.
The European Union's Capital Requirements Directive 3 will force banks to carry higher levels of capital to support risky trading activity and is currently set for implementation by the end of 2010, the FT said.
This is due to be debated as part of this week's meeting of European finance ministers, it added.
The FT said that according to banks, the ruling could trigger more than 200 billion euros ($300 billion) of capital raisings within a year as they struggle to comply with the new framework.
"Nobody's done a proper impact study on this. We're not out of recession yet in the UK. These rules should only be phased in after we've had three or four quarters of positive GDP growth, not rushed through within a year," a senior UK banker said, the FT reported.
Trying to unwind trading positions and contain activity in response to swiftly introduced rules would not be practical, the banker said, according to the FT. (Editing by Carol Bishopric)
