ECB must keep policy, watchdog roles separate: Liikanen

European Central Bank must keep its monetary policy and banking supervision roles separate, ECB Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen said on Thursday.

European finance ministers earlier agreed to grant new powers to the ECB to supervise euro-area banks from 2014.

"ECB monetary policy must be autonomous and independent and supervision must be independent...to avoid conflicts of interest," Liikanen, also the head of the Bank of Finland, told a news conference.

(Reporting by Terhi Kinnunen; Editing by Jon Boyle)