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(Reuters) - Europe's legal framework to decide who pays if banks fail should avoid granting too much flexibility to individual EU member states, the head of French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) told Reuters on Wednesday.
The law on rescuing and closing banks in the EU is central to the 27-nation bloc's banking union, which aims to prevent future financial crises and get the economy out of recession.
EU states have been at odds on how to distribute the cost of shuttering banks. Germany favors strict norms across the EU on how losses would be spread across shareholders, bondholders and depositors.
Britain, Sweden and France want more flexibility. SocGen Chief Executive Frederic Oudea appeared to distance himself from the French government's position.
"There should not be too much flexibility," Oudea said in an interview on the sidelines of a finance conference.
"It is better to have the same rules of the game from one country to the next and that these rules be clear, understandable and applicable for both depositors and investors."
SocGen, France's second-largest listed bank, was among the lenders caught in the flare-up of the eurozone's sovereign-debt crisis in 2011. It has since cut jobs and sold assets to bolster its balance sheet and is eyeing an extra 900 million euros ($1.17 billion) in savings by 2015 to lift profits.
Despite the bleak picture for the eurozone economy, which remains mired in recession, Oudea said he did not think SocGen would need to cut costs more aggressively than planned.
The CEO also appeared to dismiss the idea of a sharp rise in loan-loss provisions in SocGen's home market, despite a jobless rate that is at 15-year highs and consumer belt-tightening.
"We are not seeing a rise in defaults," he said.
(Reuters) - Europe's legal framework to decide who pays if banks fail should avoid granting too much flexibility to individual EU member states, the head of French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) told Reuters on Wednesday.
The law on rescuing and closing banks in the EU is central to the 27-nation bloc's banking union, which aims to prevent future financial crises and get the economy out of recession.
EU states have been at odds on how to distribute the cost of shuttering banks. Germany favors strict norms across the EU on how losses would be spread across shareholders, bondholders and depositors.
Britain, Sweden and France want more flexibility. SocGen Chief Executive Frederic Oudea appeared to distance himself from the French government's position.
"There should not be too much flexibility," Oudea said in an interview on the sidelines of a finance conference.
"It is better to have the same rules of the game from one country to the next and that these rules be clear, understandable and applicable for both depositors and investors."
SocGen, France's second-largest listed bank, was among the lenders caught in the flare-up of the eurozone's sovereign-debt crisis in 2011. It has since cut jobs and sold assets to bolster its balance sheet and is eyeing an extra 900 million euros ($1.17 billion) in savings by 2015 to lift profits.
Despite the bleak picture for the eurozone economy, which remains mired in recession, Oudea said he did not think SocGen would need to cut costs more aggressively than planned.
The CEO also appeared to dismiss the idea of a sharp rise in loan-loss provisions in SocGen's home market, despite a jobless rate that is at 15-year highs and consumer belt-tightening.
"We are not seeing a rise in defaults," he said.
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