E-Paper
US-France rift over banking reforms ahead of today's G20 meet
A rift between the United States and European countries such as France and Germany over banking reforms threatened to complicate efforts by G20 countries to revive the world economy that is showing signs of at least a modest recovery.
A rift between the United States and European countries such as France and Germany over banking reforms threatened to complicate efforts by G20 countries to revive the world economy that is showing signs of at least a modest recovery.
As Finance Ministers and Central Bank officials of developed and developing countries representing 80 per cent of the world economic output gathered in London for talks on Saturday, the United States' call to introduce tougher bank capital rules met with resistance from France.
The US is in favour of boosting bank reserves to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that hit the world in September 2007. But France and Germany want a crackdown on bankers' bonuses or a targetted tax on excess remuneration which the US and the UK believe would be hard to implement.
The G20 meeting will consider reforms for the global financial system in order to prevent future crises and the exit strategies from the massive stimulus packages.
