BRUSSELS, March 18, 2010 (AFP) - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that non-European banks, starting with US rivals, should meet the same capital requirements and other criteria as those in Europe.
    Lagarde, who met EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia in Brussels, told reporters of the "need for what we call a 'level playing-field'."
    She said it was "essential that all actors, whether established in the European sector or not, as soon as they are operating in (Europe)... respect all the same criteria covering capital and liquidity."
    She said it was "indispensable" that the United States followed through with commitments to "fully respect" the same criteria as installed in the European Union.
    "It's a competition issue," she underlined.
    Regulation at EU level comes amid reflections on how to ensure banks are on a surer footing going into any future financial crises among the G20 grouping of developed and developing countries in the industry's Basel Committee.