MILAN — The head of the European parliament has challenged the European Central Bank over how new guidelines for bank bad loans are being set, escalating a row between Italy and the ECB over the proposed measures. The ECB last week issued new proposals that will force banks from 2018 to set aside more cash against newly classified bad loans and said it may also present additional measures to tackle the sector's huge stock of bad debts. Italian bank shares fell for a fifth straight day on Tuesday following a string of analyst reports warning the country's lenders would be hit by the new measures. EU parliament speaker Antonio Tajani, an Italian national, said in a letter to ECB President Mario Draghi, also Italian, that he was "deeply concerned" about how the new policies were being set. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyTajani urged Draghi to involve the European parliament in the process to avert an institutional clash.

Source: New York Times October 10, 2017 06:34 UTC