EU scraps proposal to break up 'too-big-to-fail' lenders

London

THE European Union drew criticism for abandoning one of its most controversial efforts to rein in the banking industry since the financial crisis, as supporters of a law to break up too-big-to-fail lenders said they still pose a risk to the public.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, on Tuesday scrapped the proposal, saying there was "no foreseeable agreement" in Parliament on the legislation, which would have potentially split the retail units from riskier investment banking arms of major lenders such as Deutsche Bank AG and BNP Paribas SA.