EU ministers seal banking agreement on eve of Brussels summit

EU finance ministers announced late on Wednesday night that they had reached agreement on a new system for dealing with eurozone banks, under intense pressure to seal the accord on their new flagship policy in advance of a two-day Brussels summit opening on Thursday.

European Union inches towards 'Banking Union'

BRUSSELS: EU finance ministers on Tuesday edged towards a difficult compromise on a Banking Union they hope will prevent a repeat of crippling crises and inject new impetus into the economy.

ECB fin stability chief pledges rigorous bank tests

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will not let banks off the hook easily in its upcoming health checks, the head of the financial stability department said on Friday.

ECB to begin bank stress tests under new role

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank said Wednesday it will start next month to check the balance sheets of 124 eurozone banks and "stress-test" them before it becomes the sector's supervisor next year.

ECB President Mario Draghi asked EU to keep state aid rules for banks flexible

MILAN: Banks that are still viable but need state aid to boost their capital base should be allowed to receive help without inflicting losses on their junior bondholders, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told the European Commission.

Europe needs Britain, says ECB president Mario Draghi

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has issued a plea for a more co-operative Britain to stay in Europe.With the political row over Europe escalating in the UK, Mr Draghi suggested a British exit would be bad for both sides.

Spain, Portugal push for full banking union as Germany finds hurdles

(Reuters) - Spain and Portugal called on Monday for the euro zone to complete a banking union as Germany underscored legal hurdles before a central element of the plan to deal with failing banks can be introduced.

Don't Rely on Banking Union to Solve Euro Zone Crisis

Conventional wisdom has it that the euro zone needs a banking union to solve its crisis. This is wrong. Not only are there alternatives to an integrated regulatory structure for the zone’s 6,000 banks, but centralization will undermine national sovereignty.

EU summit: France says bank deal helps eurozone fusion

The French president says a deal to start building a banking union on 1 January will enable the eurozone to speed up economic integration.

UK pushing for curbs on ECB in banking union

(Reuters) - Britain and other European countries have deep concerns about a banking union in the euro zone, although there are signs of a compromise to limit the powers of the European Central Bank (ECB) in countries outside the euro, a UK minister told Reuters.

Europe focused on union rather than breaking up banks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Experts may recommend this week that European banks should separate retail banking from their riskier investment arms to make them safer and soften the impact of financial crises.

Germany says further steps needed before banks tap ESM

(Reuters) - Handing bank oversight to the European Central Bank is not in itself sufficient to allow the euro zone's rescue fund to directly assist banks, Germany's Finance Minister said, warning he expected no such deal on supervision in 2012.

Italy's Mario Monti calls on EU to bring down borrowing costs

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti called Tuesday on the European Union to recognise efforts made by countries to overcome the economic crisis by moving to bring down punishing borrowing costs.

IMF calls for action as euro crisis escalates

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The International Monetary Fund urged euro area policy makers Wednesday to address the worsening crisis in the currency zone.

Christine Lagarde: IMF to cut global growth forecast

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde has said that the organisation's next forecast for global economic growth would be down from the 3.5% predicted in April.

EU Banking Debate Shifts to Euro Area After Accord on Spain

The European Union’s push to unify bank oversight moved to the euro area after two days of talks in Brussels, putting the European Central Bank at the center of Spain’s efforts to extract its government from its banking- industry rescue.

Europe's Tower of Babel hampers euro solution

PARIS (Reuters) - As Europe considers a leap towards closer integration to try to save the euro single currency, it resembles the biblical Tower of Babel - unable to complete an ambitious project because the residents don't speak the same political and economic language.