Scholz Readies Reforms to Ease Wirecard Scandal Pressure (2)

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz plans to strengthen the government’s financial oversight, as the widening scandal over the collapse of Wirecard AG reaches the highest levels of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.

Scholz’s “action plan” would overhaul Germany’s regulatory machinery to streamline probes into irregularities among banks, insurers and payment companies, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg News. Merkel’s finance minister will move “quickly” to implement the changes.

Olaf Scholz

Photographer: Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

“Balance sheets must be reliable,” Scholz said in a tweet posted by the Finance Ministry. “My goal is a far-reaching reform with clear measures against balance-sheet manipulation and for ...