Basel Agreement Boosts European Bank Shares

European bank shares have risen following the weekend agreement on the minimum amounts of cash and easy-to-sell assets that banks have to hold.

A previous draft two years ago said they would have to meet new requirements by 2015, but that has now been extended to 2019.

The reserves are supposed to make banks less vulnerable to lots of customers trying to withdraw their money.

It is the first time there have been liquidity rules covering global banks.

The agreement was made by the group of banking regulators that oversees the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Analysts say the rules just announced are more flexible than a draft version, and shares in banks rose on Monday morning.

Barclays shares rose 4%, while Lloyds Banking Group was up 1.3%. In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank was up 1.6% while Commerzbank rose 2.3%.

via BBC

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.