Bank of England eases capital requirements for midsize banks

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's central bank confirmed a previously signposted easing of capital requirements for medium-sized lenders on Tuesday, as part of a wider set of reforms aimed at boosting the country's financial sector.

The Bank of England increased the minimum asset threshold at which banks have to issue expensive debt known as MREL, so that they can be bailed in if they fail instead of needing taxpayer rescue as happened in the 2008 financial crisis.

The BOE set the threshold at 25 billion-40 billion pounds ($87.35 billion), up from a previous 15 billion-25 billion pounds.

($1 = 0.7442 pounds)

(Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)