Sweden says no taxpayer money for bailouts under banking union
Sweden said on Monday it wanted a make sure its tax payers would not end up paying for foreign bank bailouts under any European banking union and that it was allowed to set higher capital demands on its banks than others.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who will discuss the banking union issue with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week, also said he wanted Sweden to have a voice in any such union.
"I will present those three (demands) in that order," Reinfeldt said.
Swedish central bankers and regulators have spoken out against the EU banking plans, voicing doubts over the funding of a planned European deposit guarantee scheme and concerns the plans risk creating a division between euro zone members and non-members.
The head of the European Banking Authority, Andrea Anira, has said that countries that stay outside a banking union should be given safeguards against being sidelined, adding to the momentum from Sweden and others pushing to alter the scheme.
Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said on Saturday that he saw a willingness to compromise from the key euro zone officials on the bank union.
(Reporting by Daniel Dickson Writing by Patrick Lannin. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)