PARIS (Reuters) - Following are highlight quotes from officials at the end of a G20 finance ministers meeting which reached a compromise agreement on imbalance indicators.
FRENCH ECONOMY MINISTER CHRISTINE LAGARGE ON PROGRESS AT THE G20:
"It wasn't simple, there were obviously divergent interests, but we were able to reach a comprise on a text that seems to us to be both balanced and demanding in its implementation.
"The negotiations were frank, at times tense and always very respectful.
"The final compromise shows a spirit of compromise and thoroughness."
"The next will be the guidelines, then the mutual assessment process."
"I take things one day at a time. If it is difficult it will be difficult."
ON INDICATORS:
"There were obviously divergent interests but we were able to reach a compromise on a text.
"The reference to the exchange rate and to a lesser extent monetary policy was the aim of a long debate.
"Everyone agrees that the international monetary system will not be reshaped in a day or even in a year." "These are not targets, goals, these are indicators.
"Reserves have been dropped."
ON BANK REGULATION:
"We encouraged all the supplementary work on shadow banking and there the FSB is going to submit a report as soon as possible, by June at the latest."
ON CHINA MONETARY REFORM SEMINAR
"The seminar which will take place next to Shenzen ... will take place in the last three days of march, (it) will be organized with the ... aid of the Chinese foreign ministry and the central bank of China."
ON TUNISIA AND EGYPT:
"We put ourselves at the disposal of these two countries, in liaison with the regional development banks, to help with the transition in these two countries."
TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER ON EUROPEAN DEBT PROBLEMS
"European leaders have made it clear they will do whatever it takes to make sure the nations affected and their banks have access to financing as they implement these very challenging, multi-year programs of fiscal and financial reform.
ON EXCHANGE RATES AND CHINA
"The upward pressure on (emerging market) exchange rates is being accentuated by the fact that other major emerging markets are holding their exchange rates at undervalued levels and tightly limiting capital inflows, which serves to exacerbate price pressures within their own economies and shift the burden of adjustment to others. "There is broad consensus that the major economies, not just Europe, Japan and the United States, but also the large emerging economies need to allow their exchange rates to adjust in response to market forces.
"Since June 2010, China's authorities have allowed their currency to appreciate against the dollar at a pace of about six percent a year in nominal terms, and more than ten percent a year in real terms, given faster inflation in China than in the United States.
"Nonetheless, China's currency remains substantially undervalued, and its real effective exchange rate -- the best measure to judge its currency against all of its trading partners -- has not moved much in this latest period of exchange rate reform."
ECB PRESIDENT JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET
ON INFLATION
"The price of energy and commodities is something we are looking at very very carefully with a view to avoid second-round effects, to avoid that price increases could be enshrined in inflation in the medium term.
"We are responsible for preserving stability in the medium term. No second-round effect is our moto.
"Inflationary pressures coming from the price of oil, energy and commodities are to be taken seriously.
"We consider that it is absolutely decisive that we have the appropriate measures for reducing global imbalances which were one of the causes of the difficulties we have observed in recent past... The indicators which are mentioned in the communique are certainly very important."
ON PORTUGAL
"We call on all governments, without any exception, first to apply the plan that they have ... as rigorously, convincingly and ethically as possibly, and they have themselves to be ahead of the curve in all respects. That is our clear message ... for Portugal as well as for others. It is up to the countries themselves to be convincing in making their case to the market."
IMF CHIEF DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN ON INCLUDING CHINA'S YUAN IN THE SDR
"Shouldn't the basket (of currencies behind the SDR) now include other currencies, because the world is no longer the euro zone, the U.S., the UK and Japan, and the answer is yes.
"The question is what are the requirements?
"It has to be a currency which is freely valued by the market and it (the renminbi) is not. The question is how can we have the renminbi in and I would be personally in favor of having the renminbi in as soon as possible, but it means one way or another that the renminbi has to be, if not totally freely convertible, at least partly convertible.
CANADIAN FINANCE MINISTER JIM FLAHERTY:
"There was no indication by China that they intended to be more flexible with respect to their currency immediately. But the indicators are much more broadly based than that. This isn't just about exchange rates. This is about growing global imbalances."
BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR MARK CARNEY
"The impact of reserves to the current account is very much included, the components, net investment flows particularly, ... are the product of the net foreign asset position of the country and in a country like China effectively the product of their foreign reserve position, so the substance of it is there. It's just wording."
BUNDESBANK PRESIDENT AXEL WEBER ON BASEL III BANKING REFORM
"The U.S. finance minister has assured the Europeans that we are implementing these rules jointly and symmetrically in a global context.
"That affects especially the innovations of rules for the trade-book. Significantly higher capital requirements will be required for risky derivative business in future -- that will be implemented on both sides of the Atlantic in parallel. New capital and liquidity rules are also being implemented in tandem.
"We have reassured each other, that these (systemically important) banks will need higher capital-requirements. There is still a discussion about the concrete instruments for that."
"The French approach is first to start with systemically relevant financial institutions and then continue with other financial institutions. The question of capital-surcharges is still on the agenda.
"The second thing is: it is not enough to require more capital from the sifis. More intense supervision has also to be part of the new regime."
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE ON FINANCIAL
TRANSACTION TAX:
"I still believe, one should do this in Europe."
UK FINANCE MINISTER GEORGE OSBORNE ON G20 DEAL ON INDICATORS
"We did take an important step forward by agreeing these indicators, which was quite a drawn-out process but we got to the right end-point.
"Very explicitly, in the communique it mentions exchange rates as part of the imbalances, as well as what we'd supported, which was public and private debt, and that gives us the green light to go forward to the April meetings to agree the guidelines by which we're going to assess the indicators.
EU MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN ON PORTUGAL
"It is essential that Portugal stick to its fiscal targets.
"Moreover, it is essential that Portugal further substantiate the structural reforms that have been initially announced. It is a work in progress, and progress has been made."
