Europe

Europe

France wants more control over banks: Sarkozy

27 October 2011 23:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. France’s central bank will have more power over commercial banks, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday night on television, APA reports.

"The Bank of France will have power to sanction and control the banks" and the central bank governor Christian Noyer will receive all French bankers in the coming days, Sarkozy said on local television channels TF1 and France 2.

Indicating an end to bankers’ "bonus and remunerations," he said "the Bank of France and French government will ensure the past practice to stop by the month of next April," traditionally the month when bonus and dividends are given out in the country’s banking system.

"It’s time to think about clients, less about shareholders," the president added.

Sarkozy made the statement while commenting on the bank recapitalization decision reached by eurozone leaders in Brussels summit.

The lengthy eurozone summit on late Wednesday and early Thursday affirmed the decision to recapitalize European banks and suggested the banks to increase their core capital ratio to 9 percent to buffer potential bigger crisis before the end of next June.

However, both French and German leaders underlined that the private sector should first seek to raise fund by itself rather than relying on public help.

French banks, hit hard by Athens debt crisis, would need 10 billion euros (13.9 billion U.S. dollars), French Prime Minister Francois Fillon estimated on Tuesday.