Assets move to hit EU bank costs

Brussels: European Union banks may face new costs and liabilities next year under a law allowing claimants to freeze debtors’ assets in the bloc with court orders from any EU jurisdiction, lawyers say.

The European Commission wants the proposal in place as soon as March, allowing judges to grant cross-border account freezes in secret and apply them to banks in other EU nations before a debtor is aware of the claim. The legislative arm of the 27-nation EU says 63% of cross-border debt can’t be recovered, and it blames a network of diverging national laws and the high cost of winning separate freezes in each country where assets are located.

Lawyers aren’t convinced the new law will help.