Merkel welcomes EU bank supervision deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed on Thursday an agreement reached overnight to establish a single bank supervisor in the eurozone, saying Germany's "core demands" had been met. Addressing lawmakers in lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, Merkel said that the agreement reached by European finance ministers on Thursday dawn "cannot be valued highly enough". With the establishment of the single bank supervisor, troubled banks in the euro zone could be bailed out directly in stead of through their governments. The banking supervision will "uncover and correct" distortions in the national banking sector, so that they would not stretched to the eurozone, Merkel said. The Chancellor also praised German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble for enforcing German "core demands". Under the bank supervision agreement, banks with assets over 30 billion euros (about 39 billion U.S. dollars) or those that represent 20 percent of their national economies will be placed under the direct oversight of the ECB, which can also supervise any other bank it wants within those countries that have agreed to be come under its orbit. This means small banks in Germany and other countries will remain under the supervision of their own finance authorities unless they face potential problems. Merkel is set to fly to Brussels for a fresh EU summit later on Thursday. The Chancellor also called for increasing EU's competitiveness through a stronger economic policy coordination, warning that losses of competitiveness of one country could cause problems for the whole EU. "It is absolutely necessary for the strengthening of economic policy coordination at the very beginning," she said. Related: EU takes a major step towards banking union BRUSSELS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's finance ministers took a first major step towards a banking union early Thursday by agreeing to give the European Central Bank broad supervisory powers. The single supervisory mechanism (SSM) will be composed of the ECB and national competent authorities, the Council of the EU said in a statement after after a meeting of EU finance ministers that lasted more than 14 hours into early Thursday morning.Full story EU finmins reach deal on single bank supervisor: official BRUSSELS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's finance ministers took a first major step towards a banking union early Thursday by agreeing to give the European Central Bank broad supervisory powers. "Most banks will be under the direct supervision of the ECB. The ECB will be in charge," French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told reporters after a meeting of EU finance ministers that lasted more than 14 hours into early Thursday morning. Full story EU proposes plan to establish banking union STRASBOURG, France, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Wednesday proposed new banking supervision powers for the European Central Bank (ECB) as part of a banking union. "The Commission is presenting legislative proposals for a single European supervisory mechanism," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament in Strasbourg in his annual "state of the union" address. Full story