ZCZC
BCN-07
FRANCE-GERMANY-US-G7-FINANCE-ECONOMY
France, Germany worried over new Facebook currency
CHANTILLY, France, July 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The finance ministers of
France and Germany on Wednesday expressed serious reservations about
Facebook’s planned Libra cryptocurrency because of its possible impact on
global financial stability.
Facebook last month unveiled its plans for Libra in an announcement
greeted with concern by governments and critics of the social network
behemoth around the world.
The issue was at the forefront of the minds of ministers and central
bankers from the G7 group of most developed economies as they kicked off a
two-day meeting in Chantilly outside Paris on Wednesday.
“The G7 finance ministers and central bankers who are here have serious
concerns,” said German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.
“They want to be sure that all existing regulations are adhered to, and if
they should be changed in the future, so that we can guarantee the stability
of the international financial system,” he added.
“We are talking about currency stability, security, data protection and
democratic control,” he added.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who has warned about Libra
repeatedly since the launch announcement, said “the conditions are not yet in
place today for Libra to be introduced.”
He said he hoped the G7 would consider the necessity of a “framework or a
regulation” and also “what would be the conditions that would make such an
instrument feasible.”
“Today, we cannot accept that an exchange instrument comes into being when
it does not respect any of the precautionary rules that all sovereign
currencies are required to abide by.”
Their comments echoed warnings issued on Monday by US Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin, who was also present at the meeting.
He said Facebook must meet “a very high standard” before it moves ahead
with Libra, saying US regulators have already expressed concerns to the
company.
Mnuchin that these kinds of virtual currencies have in the past been
associated with money laundering and illicit activities.
“Whether they’re banks or non-banks, they’re under the same regulatory
environment,” Mnuchin told reporters at the White House.
Libra is widely regarded as a challenger to dominant global player
bitcoin. Expected to launch in the first half of 2020, Libra is designed to
be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings of bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies.
BSS/AFP/HR/0950