Berlin: Germany has approved new measures to rein in high-risk financial business of banks and to decouple them from retail banking as part of a comprehensive reform to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis five years ago and to minimise the costs for taxpayers if banks were to be bailed out in the future.
The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Friday voted with the majority of the ruling conservative-liberal coalition a legislation, which will require banks with assets exceeding 100 billion euros (130 billion USD), or 20 per cent of their balance sheet, to separate their risky trading activities from the traditional client banking and to put them in independent subsidiaries until 2016.
The new rues, which are scheduled to come into force in early 2015, will bar direct lending and provision of guarantees to hedge funds and private equity funds by retail banks through the use of clients' capital deposits.
Banks will have to finance highly speculative businesses with their own resources and to transfer high frequency trading as well as lending to hedge funds and other holding companies to the proposed subsidiaries, the legislation said....
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07:40 AM, May 19, 2013
Dhaka: The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 per cent of clothes going to Europe. Any action...
03:12 AM, May 02, 2013
Patna: The European Union On Tuesday praised the rapid development spree in Bihar within a short period of time. EU envoy Joao Cravinho met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence and attributed the turnaround to "dynamic leadership" of the Chief Minister. The EU envoy was accompanied by First Counsellor and head of its political affairs Anne Marchal. During the meeting, the EU representatives discussed about new initiatives taken by...
12:15 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Berlin: India on Wednesday sought a strong political thrust from Germany, a key member of the 27-nation European Union bloc, for inking of the long pending Free Trade Agreement with the grouping. This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid during his comprehensive talks with German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, during which various bilateral, regional and international issues including EU-India FTA, Iran's contentious nuclear programme, and North Korea were discussed....
09:00 AM, Apr 11, 2013
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron delivered an emotional tribute to Margaret Thatcher in parliament on Wednesday, but political opponents boycotted the debate on her legacy, underlining how divisive a figure she remains even in death. MPs were recalled from their holidays for the first time for the death of a public figure since Queen Elizabeth's mother died in 2002, reflecting the "Iron Lady's" place in history. Thatcher, who died...
04:47 AM, Apr 11, 2013
New Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh has left for Berlin on Wednesday to participate in the second round of inter-governmental consultations with Germany. The two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations and will address possible areas of cooperation. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and other important officials are going to be a part of the delegation on the bilateral visit. Dr Singh will arrive in Berlin on the...
09:05 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Cyprus has agreed to shrink its bloated financial industry and tap big depositors at its two leading banks for billions of euros. The last-minute deal has cleared the way for a 10 billion euro bailout from the European Union. ...
11:40 AM, Mar 25, 2013
Nicosia: Cyprus's bid to avert financial collapse will go down to the wire after the island said it would hold a crucial sitting of parliament only after finance ministers of the 17-nation euro zone meet on Sunday. Cyprus faces a Monday deadline to clinch a 10 billion euro bailout from the European Union or the European Central Bank sauys it will cut off emergency funding to the country's stricken banks,...
06:50 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Cyprus is expected to make a dramatic U-turn on Saturday to avert the imminent threat of financial meltdown, having signalled it is willing to tax big savers in its stricken banks to clinch a bailout from the European Union. The island's partners in the 17-nation euro zone scheduled a meeting for Sunday in Brussels, in a strong sign they believe a solution is near. ...
06:40 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Cyprus considered nationalising pension funds and ordered banks to stay shut till next week to avert financial chaos after it rejected the terms of a European Union bailout and turned to Russia for aid. ...
07:40 AM, Mar 21, 2013
Stocks around the world and the euro fell sharply Monday as investors fretted over a plan to tax depositors in Cypriot banks as a way to partly fund a bailout of the Mediterranean island nation. Although Cyprus accounts for only around 0.2 per cent of the economic output of the 17 European Union countries that use the common euro, the tax on depositors was a significant policy shift that has...
05:45 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Former counsel for the Italian marines in the Kerala fishermen killings case, Harish Salve has said that there is no legal bar or immunity to the Italian ambassador, Daniel Mancini, from being arrested by the Supreme Court. ...
07:07 AM, Mar 17, 2013
In an unprecedented action, the Supreme Court on Thursday restrained the Italian Ambassador from leaving India without its permission even as government began a review of entire gamut of relations with Italy which could result in downgrading of diplomatic ties over marines issue. ...
09:34 PM, Mar 14, 2013
No company has ever failed to keep its end of a bargain with EU authorities before. ...
06:04 PM, Mar 06, 2013
Italians finish voting in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years on Monday with a surge in protest votes fuelling concern that the ballot may not produce a government strong enough to pull Italy from its economic slump. ...
10:32 AM, Feb 25, 2013
Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italy votes in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe's biggest economies. ...
01:07 PM, Feb 24, 2013
The European Union and the United Kingdom may have had a rethink on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but the USA is certainly not warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. ...
04:25 PM, Feb 19, 2013
The euro dropped to a three-week low against the dollar and fell sharply versus the yen on Thursday after data painted a bleak picture of the euro zone economy, raising speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates. ...
08:31 AM, Feb 15, 2013
The European Union has regretted the hanging of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, asking India to put a moratorium on executions. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was with "regret" that she learned of the execution of Afzal Guru last Saturday. ...
06:10 PM, Feb 13, 2013
The EU lifted the diplomatic ban on Narendra Modi with the German Ambassador saying the decision was taken after his victory. ...
11:16 PM, Feb 08, 2013
