Newsletter February 2013: EU mulls bank capital rule changes to boost investment

BRUSSELS – The EU is mulling changes to bank capital rules in a bid to spur long-term investment threatened by the bloc’s sovereign-debt crisis, reported Bloomberg News in late January. It said the European Commission will seek views on whether “particular types of long-term investments merit preferential capital requirements,” according to draft plans obtained by Bloomberg News. The EU’s executive arm is also said to be weighing options to stimulate the market for covered bonds and high-quality securitised debt.