WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The French finance minister Christine Lagarde felt a 'thirst' for more regulation among executives of the worlds leading banks who met for dinner Friday evening with the G7 finance ministers, she told reporters today. The G7 ministers had, before meeting the bankers, adopted a financial sector regulation reform plan proposed by the Financial Stability Forum. They invited the bankers to discuss it over dinner after completing the G7 meeting.
Lagarde's interpretation is surprising, since banking executives, particularly in the United States, are traditionally opposed to any tightening of regulations.
The head of Deutsche Bank, Josef Ackermann, who also chairs the Institute of International Finance (IIF), had stated this week that the banks were ready 'to raise the standards and best practices in the world of finance,' but had reiterated IIF opposition to more government involvement.
Lagarde said that with this position, Mr. Ackermann was 'isolated' within other bankers present at the dinner corbett.daly@thomson.com+tfn.newsdesk@thomson.com afp/dem/wash/wash COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.