LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Smaller banks will have more
time to reach targets for issuing debt that can be written down
during insolvency, the Bank of England said on Thursday as it
seeks to boost competition in a banking sector long dominated by
a handful of lenders.
Banks are required to issue MREL, or minimum requirement for
own funds and eligible liabilities, a form of debt that can be
written down to replenish capital buffers in a crisis, and avoid
the taxpayer bailouts of lenders seen during the financial
crisis over a decade ago.
"Making it easier for firms to grow into MREL responds
directly to firms’ concerns about barriers to growth created by
the step up in MREL requirements as firms expand their balance
sheets," BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said in a statement.
(Reporting by Huw Jones;
Editing by Alison Williams)