EU Signals Retreat from Liikanen Reforms?

The FT is reporting that Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner responsible for the internal market and services, has hinted that the EU may not require banks to erect a ringfence around their trading activities, confirming that any reforms would have to preserve the diversity of EU banks and avoid penalising those that were supporting economic growth.

We will know more in the summer of 2013, following completion of an impact analysis of the proposed Liikanen reforms, when M. Barnier confirms the EU’s preference for implementation in more detail.