The president of the European Commission says banks should temporarily increase their capital buffers to better withstand the crisis. Jose-Manuel Barroso said today that banks should temporarily have a "significantly higher capital ratio of highest quality capital." He says that until banks have raised their capital buffers to the new standards, they should not be allowed to pay out dividends or bonuses. He says if banks can't raise the capital on the market, they should get help from governments, who in turn can ask for capital from the euro zone bail-out fund. Mr Barroso also called for a permanet bail-out fund, the European Stability Mechanism, to come into force already in mid-2012, one year ahead of schedule. The ESM, in contrast to the current bail-out fund, requires private investors to take losses on government bonds if a state needs to write off some of its debt load. Barroso told the European parliament that EU leaders head into a summit on October 23 amid the "threat of systemic crisis now unfolding." He said that leaders need to agree on decisive action on Greece and a coordinated approach to strengthen Europe's banks when they meet on October 23. The Commission President announced what he called a roadmap to restore confidence in the euro area and the wider European Union. He flagged the need for action on Greece, completion of euro zone intervention powers, a coordinated approach to strengthening Europe's banks, speeding up growth policies and building better economic governance.