Euro Area Grapples With Bank Aid Rules as Legacy Assets Loom
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Euro-area finance ministers staked out their turf in a brewing battle over bank rescues amid German and Austrian warnings that direct bailouts won’t be widely available.
Ministers seek an agreement in the first half of this year on how and when the 500 billion-euro ($668 billion) European Stability Mechanism can bypass governments and provide direct help to banks. Ireland and France led calls at a meeting of euro finance chiefs in Brussels yesterday for work to proceed quickly so the new tool can be ready as quickly as possible.