Yves Mersch, the governor of the Central Bank of Luxembourg, on Sunday slammed the Basel III package, endorsing European bankers' concerns that the reforms will skew the playing field in favour lenders in the United States.

Mersch, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, told an international gathering of lawyers in Istanbul: "Although it is important to call for sound liquidity risk management and robust capital buffers, it seems awkward to target deposits and