EU commissioner for financial services Maria Luís Albuquerque rejected bank lobby calls to split the bloc's wide-ranging banking reform, saying a single package is needed to address fragmentation, reduce red tape, lower cross-border barriers and relax some regulation. Eleven senior bank chiefs from the EU, Switzerland and the UK had urged the Commission last week to prioritise “simplified” reforms and delay contentious items such as a European deposit insurance scheme; Albuquerque said the measu

EU commissioner for financial services Maria Luís Albuquerque rejected bank lobby calls to split the bloc's wide-ranging banking reform, saying a single package is needed to address fragmentation, reduce red tape, lower cross-border barriers and relax some regulation. Eleven senior bank chiefs from the EU, Switzerland and the UK had urged the Commission last week to prioritise “simplified” reforms and delay contentious items such as a European deposit insurance scheme; Albuquerque said the measures are intended to strengthen the EU economy rather than to benefit banks.