PARIS (Reuters) – Bankers voiced relief yesterday after world leaders abandoned a global bank levy and eased the timetable for new capital requirements at a G20 summit in Canada which posed questions about the forum’s effectiveness.
Shares climbed in Europe and Asia, led by banks, after the US Congress adopted a landmark financial regulation package on Friday, removing uncertainty, and the G20 dropped a 2012 deadline for more stringent risk-provisioning rules.
“We welcome the fact that the G20 has stepped away from imposing an arbitrary timeline for the implementation of new measures and has instead agreed to phase-in requirements agreements as and when national economic conditions allow,” the International Banking Federation said in a statement.
Leaders of the main developed and emerging economies papered over differences on the right balance between reviving economic growth and cutting budget deficits at weekend talks in Toronto, in what was seen as a setback for US President Barack Obama.
Unable to muster the unity of the past three crisis-era G20 summits, the leaders fell back on the “Sinatra doctrine,” leaving each country to do it “my way,” move at its own pace and adopt “differentiated and tailored” policies.
European leaders got what they saw as a green light to pursue austerity measures they consider essential to restore market confidence in the euro dented by the Greek fiscal crisis and wider concerns about high European sovereign debt.
“To be honest, it was more than I expected,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the G20’s non-binding pledge to halve budget deficits by 2013 and balance budgets from 2016.
The United States had pressed the Europeans before the meeting to avoid withdrawing economic stimulus measures prematurely and urged countries with current account surpluses such as Germany to boost domestic demand.
“The positive outcome is that the European consolidation programs, which are moderate and appropriate given the confidence crisis in Europe, have been endorsed and accepted by others at the G20 level,” Michael Heise, chief economist of Europe’s biggest insurer Allianz, told Reuters.
The world’s central bankers called yesterday for early and resolute steps to cut deficits, warning that global recovery could be derailed by surging interest rates unless industrial economies take determined action to reduce debt.
“High and rising levels of public debt imply significant risks for the global economy,” the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements said in a report.
France is likely to be the next European state to announce deficit-cutting steps this week, with the cabinet due to approve measures tomorrow to curb public spending, and further cuts to be spelled out in September in a tough 2011 budget.
