European Commission President Romano Prodi today said the latest version of the Basel II international rules on bank lending was making good progress, after receiving comments on last month's third draft.
"The new rules are making remarkable progress, better than the previous version," Mr Prodi told reporters at a conference in central Italy.
He also sought to ease concerns among some countries, Italy among them, that the tighter rules will hinder more than help.
The New Basel Capital Accord, dubbed Basel II because it replaces the 1988 Basel Accord, sets global standards for how much capital banks must set aside to cover unforeseen hazards along with guidelines for supervisory review and disclosure.
"The new rules will help businesses. Remember that the objective of Basel II is not to damage business, but to help them to achieve a necessary balance in their accounts."
The accord aims to be more sensitive to the risks of today's banking industry but Italy's Economy Minister Mr Guilio Tremonti last month said the accord could hurt smaller firms by forcing culture changes and may reduce their access to credit.
"In the new version the rules have been modified, introducing flexibility in the timing and conditions (for smaller businesses)," Mr Prodi said.
"But the problem that you see overwhelmingly in Italy, where a business remains poor while the family of the entrepreneur gets rich, must end."
The Basel II committee, which comprises nine EU states plus the US, Japan, Switzerland and Canada, will issue the final accord in the fourth quarter after six years of deliberation.