Global Finance Industry Calls For Coordinated Regulatory Relief

(Bloomberg) -- The global financial industry urged regulators around the globe to coordinate their response to the coronavirus outbreak to avoid regional fragmentation and competitive distortions.

“We must remember that today’s global financial system is governed by a regulatory framework defined by global standards,” UBS Group AG Chairman Axel Weber and Tim Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of International Finance, a lobby group, said in a joint statement. “Coordinated action would ensure not only greater effectiveness of measures that ultimately apply to global markets, but also a level playing field.”

Governments in Europe and the U.S. have taken unprecedented steps to try to minimize the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including through giving lenders regulatory relief on core issues such as capital and liquidity requirements. Banks play a key role in preventing the crisis from becoming more permanent because if they stop lending, the economy could seize up.

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