BRUSSELS (MarketWatch) -- The European Commission hasn't blocked France's bank bail-out plan and negotiations on the matter are continuing, a commission spokesman said Sunday. "We are not blocking (the plan), we just haven't agreed to it yet. There is a difference," said spokesman Jonathan Todd, who specializes in competition matters. Todd was responding to a report in the Financial Times that said the commission is blocking a French plan to bail out the country's six main retail banks, as it holds the view that banks shouldn't be allowed to use state support to increase their lending.
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The European Commission denied it's blocking France's 10.5 billion-euro ($13 billion) bank-rescue plan and said the two sides are still negotiating. "We haven't blocked the plan, because we haven't taken a decision," Jonathan Todd, spokesman for European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, said in a telephone interview today. Kroes held talks with French finance minister Christine Lagarde yesterday, and both sides are keen to reach a deal "as soon as possible," Todd added. The Financial Times reported yesterday that the European Commission would veto the rescue plan unless the banks reduced lending. The French government is pushing BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale SA and four other lenders to boost loans by 3 to 4 percent in exchange for the aid. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also denied the commission had blocked the plan. "Absolutely not," Sarkozy replied when asked by reporters today in Doha, Qatar. "I don't think there is such a will from any commissioner," he said.
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The European Commission denied it's blocking France's 10.5 billion-euro ($13 billion) bank-rescue plan and said the two sides are still negotiating.
"We haven't blocked the plan, because we haven't taken a decision," Jonathan Todd, spokesman for European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, said in a telephone interview today. Kroes held talks with French finance minister Christine Lagarde yesterday, and both sides are keen to reach a deal "as soon as possible," Todd added.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that the European Commission would veto the rescue plan unless the banks reduced lending. The French government is pushing BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale SA and four other lenders to boost loans by 3 to 4 percent in exchange for the aid.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also denied the commission had blocked the plan. "Absolutely not," Sarkozy replied when asked by reporters today in Doha, Qatar. "I don't think there is such a will from any commissioner," he said.
