ECB's Draghi pushes for European bank bailout fund

(AP) The president of the European Central Bank says the 17-country eurozone must move swiftly in setting up a joint fund to restructure and wind down troubled banks, claiming it is needed to stabilize the financial system.

Mario Draghi on Monday told European lawmakers the fund should be financed by levies on financial institutions to ensure it will not have to tap taxpayers' money over the medium term.

He says the fund is the logical and necessary step to complete a banking union once the ECB takes over the oversight of the bloc's banks a step planned for next year.

A joint bailout entity is met with skepticism in countries like Germany, Europe's biggest economy, where leaders fear their money could be used to bail out banks in other countries.