EU watchdog to prevent repeat of banking crisis

A NEW watchdog system to identify and give early warnings of banking problems across the EU has been unveiled by the European Commission.

Designed to prevent a repeat of the banking crisis that hit the global economy last autumn, the Commission hopes it will be in place and operating by 2011.

The current system is weak because it is fragmented along national lines with nobody having an overview of exactly how a financial institution is doing throughout the EU.