Michael Hager
Head of Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis , European Commission
“Over the years of service at the Commission, I came to fully appreciate the role played by co-operative banks in the economy and the trust they built with customers thanks to their proximity to the needs of the local communities. When looking at the implementation of Basel III, the European Commission is carefully listening to the concerns pointing to substantial increases of capital requirements. In times of recovery the ability of EU banks to lend should not be undermined. The revised impact assessment will analyse a range of options. We will work on implementing the agreement in a way that is faithful to the standard while at the same time taking proper account of European specificities.” Statement made on the occasion of the 43rd EACB Executive Committee meeting, 18 June 2021