Germany's Stark Opposes ECB as Bank Supervisor, Wiwo Says

Former European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark said the ECB would risk the independence of its monetary policy if it became Europe’s bank regulator, Wirtschaftswoche reported, citing an interview to be published tomorrow.

The euro area’s central bank would face conflicts of interest, for instance if a liquidity crisis at a major bank influenced ECB interest-rate decisions, the magazine quoted Stark as saying, in a summary of his comments e-mailed by the magazine today. While Stark backs creating a European banking regulator, he doesn’t want the ECB to take on the task, according to the report.