Bank ‘Proactive Approach’

“If approved, the can will be kicked a bit further down the road,” Giantiroglou said. “It will be the first step to take a more proactive approach and it clearly buys some time.”

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the sovereign-debt crisis threatened the financial system as officials raced to put together a bank recapitalization plan.


“The crisis has reached a systemic dimension,” Trichet told lawmakers in Brussels today in his capacity as head of the European Systemic Risk Board. “Sovereign stress has moved from smaller economies to some of the larger countries. The crisis is systemic and must be tackled decisively.”

Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro-area finance ministers, said late yesterday on Austrian television that Greek haircuts may exceed the 21 percent euro- area leaders agreed upon in July.