IMF says Europe needs to wean banks off crisis support measures or face more crises

IMF: Europe needs to wean banks off crisis support

LONDON — The International Monetary Fund says Europe needs to do more to wean its banks off crisis support measures or risk more financial turmoil and a prolonged period of weak growth.

In its half-yearly World Economic Outlook, the IMF said Wednesday that Europe’s banks are still overly reliant on help from governments and the European Central Bank, and remain highly vulnerable to any slowdown in economic growth.

The banks could also be hurt by another outbreak of the government debt crisis that hit Greece and Ireland.