International Business

Czech Banking Law Decision Delayed: The government put off action as thousands of depositors are scurrying to transfer money from failing banks in the Czech Republic. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said making a decision was “more difficult than we thought” and that the issue too emotionally charged at a time when two troubled banks have shut down. The proposals--revisions of a 1992 banking law enacted before the breakup of the former Czechoslovakia--would create a deposit insurance fund to protect a portion of deposits at all banks and end the government’s total guarantee of deposits at four formerly state-owned large banks. In recent weeks, one bank has shut its doors and another has frozen its deposits.