EU approves 5.9 trln USD aid for banks since financial crisis

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had approved national support to the financial sector totaling 4.5 trillion euros (5.9 trillion U.S. dollars) since the financial crisis broke out two years ago.

The European Union (EU)'s executive arm said it was the total volume of aid approved between October 2008 and October 2010, while the amount actually taken up by banks in 2009 was around 1.1 trillion euros (1.4 trillion U.S. dollars).

The bulk, or 76 percent, of the aid came in the form of state loans or guarantees by EU member states to maintain interbank financing which would only have an impact on public finances, whereas recapitalization represents 12 percent and impaired asset relief 9 percent.

"The financial crisis led member states to commit huge amounts of money to preserve financial stability," said commission vice president in charge of competition policy Joaquin Almunia.

Excluding the crisis-related support, total aid remained relatively stable at 73.2 billion euros (96 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009 or 0.62 percent of gross domestic product, according to the commission.