Exclusive-France pitches scrapping some capital demands on top euro zone banks

By Francesco Canepa

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -France is pushing to scrap some capital requirements on the euro zone’s top lenders to put them on an equal footing with their U.S. rivals, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The proposal by French regulators would apply to the bloc’s seven globally significant banks, four of which are French, and to other credit institutions with a balance sheet of more than 100 billion euros ($117 billion).

Under the plan, which hasn’t previously been reported, Europe’s biggest banks would be subject to a single requirement, rather than the current two, for determining how much capital they must have to absorb losses if they fail.

These requirements were introduced around a decade ago to avoid a repeat of the global financial crisis of 2008 but they are