EU unveils new plans on banking reform

The European Commission Wednesday proposed new rules to overhaul the European banking system and prevent a repeat of the banking crisis of 2008. "This legislation deals with the small number of very large banks which otherwise might still be too-big-to-fail, too-costly-to save, too-complex-to-resolve," Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for internal market and services, told a press conference presenting the proposals. "The proposed measures will further strengthen financial stability and ensure taxpayers don't end up paying for the mistakes of banks," he added. The new rules would also stop the biggest and most complex banks from engaging in the risky activity of "proprietary trading", trading with their own money for their own profit and not for their clients. The EU has also proposed accompanying measures aimed at increasing the transparency of certain transactions in the shadow banking sector.