Germany says won't block Basel III deal

SEOUL/BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday it would not block a global deal on tougher bank capital even though a top central banker said Europe's biggest economy was still mulling its position.

"We won't block it," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told an economics conference in Basel, Switzerland.

"But we will push that we get sufficient time to translate the rules and that the definitions are acceptable for all."

In July, Germany was the only member of the global Basel Committee of banking supervisors and central bankers that refused to endorse a draft of the rules, saying they did not take into account the special needs of its state-backed banking sector.

"Germany is still reflecting on its position but we all agree on the ultimate goal that we need a strong, resilient capital position," said Basel Committee Chairman, Nout Wellink, on the sidelines of a regulation conference in Seoul.

The committee drafting the new "Basel III" rules will meet next Tuesday, paving the way for a final endorsement of the reforms by leaders of the Group of 20 major nations in November.

So regulators have been trying to hammer out a compromise with Germany before Tuesday's Basel Committee meeting, which is due to decide on new minimum levels of capital which banks will have to hold, and a meeting of the Basel Committee's oversight body on Sept. 12.

Because of Germany's importance in the global banking industry, its support for Basel III is vital for the reforms to be introduced smoothly around the world.

At the heart of Germany's objections to the draft Basel III rules is a form of non-voting bank capital known as "silent participations". This form of capital is common in Germany but is rarely used outside the country.

Because silent participations do not absorb losses as long as a bank is still in business, the Basel Committee wants to exclude them from banks' new core capital requirements under its reforms, which could force German banks into a difficult and expensive round of raising other forms of capital.

Wellink also urged emerging market economies to adopt the new Basel III rules even though they may feel they have sufficient regulatory arrangements in place and they did not cause the financial crisis.

"I should point out that all (countries) were affected indirectly through the global economic downturn," Wellink told a conference organised by the Financial Stability Board, which is tasked by the G20 to implement a string of regulatory reforms.

Earlier this year G20 leaders agreed in principle that there should be a lengthy phase-in for aspects of the Basel III reforms beyond 2012, but they did not specify a timetable. This month's meetings of regulators are expected to fill in details of the timetable.

(Editing by Mike Peacock)

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