Greece not a model for future bank rescues: SRB's Koenig

Vienna

AN upcoming rescue of Greek banks, set to be largely financed with public money, should not be seen as a template for the future because Greek lenders were taken "hostage" by a debt-laden government, the head of the eurozone's bank resolution body said on Tuesday.

Elke Koenig, chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), said future bank resolutions will follow new European rules, due to come into full force in January, which dictate that stakeholders in a bank, from shareholders to creditors and uninsured depositors, contribute to a rescue before public funds can be called on.