EU to hold extraordinary talks on banks in May

(BRUSSELS) - European Union finance ministers will hold a special meeting next month to reach a deal on new banking rules on beefing up the capital buffers of banks, the Danish EU presidency said Thursday.

The council of finance ministers will meet on May 2 in Brussels to discuss the so-called Basel III rules ahead of a regular meeting two weeks later, said the spokesman for the presidency, Preben Aaman.

"The goal is to reach an agreement within the council" before entering negotiations with the European Parliament, he told reporters.

The 27 EU states must reach a common position on the future architecture of Europe's 8,200-bank system, but Britain has pressed for stricter rules regarding capital buffers for banks.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision estimated on Thursday that banks would need 485.6 billion euros to conform with new rules requiring all banks to raise total core reserves to 7.0 percent from 2.0 percent at the moment.

EU Internal Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier had estimated last year that banks would need to raise around 460 billion euros on the financial markets by 2019, when Basel III is supposed to be fully in place.