France opposes banks capital buffers hike higher than 5 pct - Sapin

France would oppose a reform of global banking rules that included a significant increase in capital requirements for banks and consider a 5 percent rise as significant, French finance ministers told reporters on Tuesday.

"There is no reason to significantly increase capital requirements for banks," Michel Sapin said on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Luxembourg.
He said that a 5 percent increase is the figure used to indicate a significant rise that must be avoided.
He added that this position is fully shared by Germany and is supported by most EU states and Japan. On Tuesday, the head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that the 5 percent limit would not make any sense
The Basel Committee, banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries, is due to complete its reform, known as Basel III, by the end of 2016. The new rules are meant to make the sector more financially sound by reducing reliance on internal risk models, which could result in an increase in capital requirements. 

(C) Reuters News