TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) -Banks that are too big to fail may need stricter capital requirements than smaller rivals, whose collapse would not threaten the broader financial system, the head of Britain's financial regulator said on Friday.
Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, also said he was broadly in favour of the European Union's proposals on Thursday to tighten financial supervision across the continent.
"We may need higher capital requirements for our largest banks, precisely to reflect the fact that if they ever do get into trouble they will be too big to fail and we will have to rescue them," Turner said at a news conference in Tokyo.
Earlier this week Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said that banks too big to fail "sit oddly" with a market economy. King also said that banks that pose greater risks to taxpayers should face higher capital requirements. (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)