LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - Europe should push for adequate reflection of loan securitisation risks in banks' capital requirements to help boost lending to smaller enterprises (SMEs) in the euro zone, European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Monday.
The securitisation capital framework is currently being overhauled at the international level and the resulting strict risk weights in the discussions may not only curtail any growth in securitisation markets for European SMEs, but further damage the market from its current state, Mersch said.
"It is therefore important that the EU moves ahead swiftly in addressing inconsistencies in the treatment of high quality securitisation," said Mersch in a speech.
"We must act fast and in a manner that is sensitive to our own European reality," he added.
"If the Bank of England and the ECB were to put forward a joint statement on this issue at the forthcoming IMF Spring Meetings, it would underline the European determination to decisively move forward."
(Reporting by Marc Jones,; Writing by Eva Taylor)
((eva.taylor@thomsonreuters.com)(49 69 75651244)(Reuters Messaging: eva.taylor.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: ECB/MERSCH
