King vice chair of EU supervisor
Bank of England governor Mervyn King was elected first vice chair of the new European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) that came into force yesterday in a move that may allay UK concerns of being overruled by Europe. The ESRB will monitor potential credit and asset bubbles across the 27-country bloc and recommend action before markets or economies become destabilised, plugging a macro-supervisory gap highlighted by the financial crisis. The board, which will have no binding powers, is hosted by the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt and will be chaired by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, as expected.