|
|
Article: EU: banks must be allowed to fail
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- July 23, 2009
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
|
European banks that can't survive without long-term government help must be allowed to fail, a senior European Union antitrust official said Thursday.
Several European governments have during the financial crisis swooped in to save banks such as Germany's Hypo Real Estate AG, Belgium's Fortis SA, and Britain's Northern Rock when they teetered on the edge of collapse.
Philip Lowe, the head of the European Commission's competition division, said bank failure "is something that in the longer term needs to be tolerated more" because implicit public support for any bank "can only diminish the incentives for real competition."
Lowe is currently examining state rescue plans for several lenders which ...