EU Banks Should Comply With Liquidity Rule by 2018, Karas Says

The European Parliament lawmaker leading the work on the Basel rules said banks should fully comply with liquidity standards starting in 2018, one year ahead of the schedule agreed on last month by global regulators.

National governments haven’t yet agreed on this strategy, Othmar Karas, said at a press briefing in Brussels today. Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, has called on nations to accept it, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg News.

“We want the 100 percent to be reached in 2018,” said Karas, a member of the European People’s Party from Austria. This would mean that the measure would fully take effect at the same time as a separate Basel rule on bank funding, he said.

The liquidity coverage ratio, or LCR, is part of a sweeping overhaul of bank rules, known as Basel III, that was agreed on by regulators to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The measure requires banks to hold enough easy -to-sell assets to survive a 30 day funding squeeze.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Brunsden in Brussels at jbrunsden@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net