The EU Commission has approved the Government’s €400bn guarantee that covers six Irish-owned banks and five foreign-owned financial institutions.
The announcement came as Taoiseach Brian Cowen returned from Paris where EU leaders had agreed on a big funding programme for banks and businesses.
Under the programme governments can use taxpayers’ funds to put new capital into the banks, either by buying bank shares or debt instruments issued by the banks.
It is the biggest move yet by European countries to mount a co-ordinated, system-wide effort to beat the credit crisis and Eurozone countries have agreed that they can do virtually anything to prevent bank failures.
Countries can now invest in bank equity to improve tier one capital rations and can buy up, insure or guarantee debt instruments issued by banks.
Eurozone countries can now take ‘toxic assets’ as collateral for government bonds.
Governments have also encouraged the European Central bank to start lending directly to big businesses through a commercial paper market, hoping that if big businesses get finance they will use it to pay the small businesses that supply them, boosting the flow of cash.
They also want a suspension of the so called mark-to-market accounting rules to try and halt the slide in the value of bank assets.
It will be up to each country individually to decide on which measures, if any, are needed.
Elsewhere, the British government has announced a plan to buy shares in the country’s banks to help shore up their balance sheets.
Under the scheme the government will take a 60% share in the Royal Bank of Scotland, worth £20bn, and around 40% of the combined bank which will be formed by the amalgamation of HBOS and Lloyds TSB.
The amount of money the British government is putting into RBS and HBOS is more than they are currently worth after last week’s losses on the markets.
Barclays said it will not have to turn to the government for emergency recapitalisation and will be raising £6.5bn from investors but will not be paying a final dividend for 2008, saving the group £2bn.
Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Fred Goodwin has stepped down as RBS looks to recover from the credit crunch
