Party leader sigmar gabriel emphasized: "the SPD will make this concept the basis of its financial market regulation after the federal election."Union, FDP and banking industry sharply criticized the ideas.
"Politics has lost confidence and so have the banks," said steinbruck. Banks were blackmailing politicians and making them the driven. "Profits are privatized and losses socialized."The possible SPD candidate for chancellor accused the financial industry of reflexively rejecting his proposals for regulation.
It is not a question of restricting the functional capabilities of banks. "It’s about preserving the ability of banks to function," said steinbruck, referring to a growing crisis of confidence. Banks had to serve the economy again and not degenerate into "gambling houses". Between 2008 and 2010, EU governments spent 1.6 billion euros, or 13 percent of economic output, to bail out banks. The federal government is negligently dragging its feet on the issue, words and deeds do not match in the union and the FDP.
Steinbruck had been working on the 30-page paper since march, together with former bundesbankers, on behalf of parliamentary group leader frank-walter steinmeier. The proposals provide, among other things:
– the state should largely withdraw from liability for the banks. The institutions should build up a rescue fund of 150 to 200 billion euros from their own resources throughout europe. Shareholders and creditors should also be involved in losses.
– business and investment banking to be separated. According to steinbruck, however, there are no plans to break up the banks, only to separate them organizationally. The aim is to prevent taxpayers from having to assume liability for banks in the event of future failures.
– the number of state banks that have repeatedly needed billions in aid is to be reduced from ten to two or three.
– shadow banks (hedge funds, special purpose vehicles and private equity) should be subject to the same equity rules as banks. They already handled 25 percent of financial transactions – it could not be that they were less regulated, said steinbruck.
– capping bonuses: all top earners of a bank should disclose their income; performance-based bonuses must not exceed the fixed salary, demands the SPD.
– in addition, banks are to be banned from speculating in agricultural and energy commodities and foodstuffs.
– computer high-frequency trading to be restricted. Only companies that had previously been inspected would be allowed to operate on the stock exchange.
In the end, the question is whether germany is developing into a democracy that conforms to the market, as chancellor angela merkel (CDU) once said, steinbruck said. "Or whether we will get a market economy that conforms to democracy."
"It’s no longer mab and middle," criticized the SPD politician. "The burghers have the impression that states and entire societies can be driven out of the curve by the banks’ imbalances."Politics must regain sovereignty. He hopes for a serious debate.
CDU secretary general hermann grohe accused steinbruck of throwing smoke signals. While the SPD was talking, the coalition was acting. "The union and the FDP learned lessons early on from the financial market crisis and set important guard rails for the financial markets," grohe said. The introduction of a financial transaction tax would be promoted at the european level – although the SPD and the greens had demanded this as the price for a "yes" to the fiscal pact for more budgetary discipline.
The grunen buried the proposal for a separation banking system. Left-wing faction leader gregor gysi, on the other hand, said steinbruck’s concept was despondent. "Steinbruck does not dare to really correct his own wrong deregulation policy."The proposals were not enough to give politicians back the primacy of action.
Deutsche bank particularly resisted the plan to separate lending from investment banking. "With the breakup of today’s universal bank, something was undoubtedly destroyed that is also important for german industry," supervisory board chairman paul achleitner told the "handelsblatt" newspaper. The federal association of public banks in germany (vob) warned the SPD against a banking election campaign that could destroy trust in banks.