EU calls on US to level playing field on banks

Financial regulators in Europe have called on the Obama administration to speed up reform of its banking regulations to prevent the world's largest economy gaining an unfair advantage over counterparts.

The European commissioner for financial markets, Michel Barnier, has sent a letter to Tim Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary, pointing out Europe has taken much more drastic measures to bring banks to heel than the US, according to the Financial Times. In the letter he reportedly said: “The level playing field must be a reality, not an empty slogan." Signs of strain are showing after the EU pushed through restrictive measures on executive pay, limiting bonuses, as well as imposing strict capital requirements on banks. The US has made moves to rein its own banks following the colla...