Financial Regulatory Forum

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) – The European Commission said it doubts that WestLB’s plans to set up Germany’s first “bad bank” complies with EU rules on state aid, granting only temporary clearance for the rescue plan.

“I am surprised about the level of the additional aid required and will make sure that the new aid is fully compatible with EU state aid rules,” Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Commission said it doubted the measures taken by the German government to rescue the stricken lender were compatible with state aid rules for impaired asset relief.

It would open an in-depth investigation into the plan, under which WestLB is receiving capital of 3 billion euros ($4.29 billion) from Germany, the European Union executive said.

For now, approval was given only to ensure financial stability, it added.

In a separate statement, the German finance ministry said it had no doubts the measures would be given the green light, adding that the EU’s investigation was part of the “usual legal assessment procedure for state aid”.

   DUBLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The Irish government said the European Commission supports the valuation of its 54 billion euro “bad bank” plan, as it moved a step closer to becoming law, boosting shares in the main Irish banks.

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  By Foo Yun Chee and Clara Ferreira-Marques
BRUSSELS/LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – European Union
regulators have approved a UK government plan to break up
state-owned mortgage bank Northern Rock, in a move that clears the way for the sale of key parts of the battered lender.

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By Carmel Crimmins
DUBLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Ireland’s government altered legislation creating its “bad bank”, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), to include the threat of a levy on lenders, to make the law more palatable to junior coalition partner the Green Party.

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By Jonathan Gould and Matthias Inverardi
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Germany’s WestLB will jettison at least 87 billion euros ($128 billion) in risky assets to the country’s first “bad bank”, a move other lenders are likely to follow.

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By Carmel Crimmins and Andras Gergely
DUBLIN, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Ireland will spend 54 billion euros on resuscitating its financial system and economy after a brutal property crash, ramping up its national debt and leaving the door open for further capital injections into lenders.

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WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – The Obama administration is considering splitting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and putting their troubled assets in a new federally backed corporation, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing administration officials. (more…)

By Carmel Crimmins and Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, July 30 (Reuters) – Ireland unveiled a draft law on Thursday giving its “bad bank” wide powers to deal with the legacy of a devastating property crash, but investors will have to wait until September for clues on how much it will cost.

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