EU plans to step up control of financial institutions

Brdo, Slovenia - The European Union wants to set up official monitoring bodies to keep an eye on internationally operating banks and insurances, sources close to the Slovenian EU presidency said Friday.

Main goal was to improve control and crisis management in the financial sector in view of the current financial crisis.

EU finance ministers and central bank heads agreed on a letter of intent on the issue during their meeting in Brdo, Slovenia, which is to be formally presented at next week's meeting of the G-7 finance ministers in Washington.

According to EU diplomats around 20 to 30 financial institutions in the EU will be affected by this measure, most likely major banks and insurance companies as well as stock exchanges.

The paper stated that the main issue was not to prevent crashes, but to set up a system of crisis management which was to improve the stability of the financial sector as a whole.

Key factor was whether the extent of the organization's cross- border business could endanger the whole financial system in case of problems.

Made-to-measure stability groups are to be set up on a voluntary bases by the authorities in the member states and get a clearer picture about the risks involved in order to be able engage in crisis management immediately, if necessary. (dpa)