Yet German central bank Governor Jens Weidmann expressed reservations about the idea of EFSF leveraging on Saturday.
"It depends on how leverage is done. If it is done so that in the end the euro system is at risk, then that does not fulfill the requirements," he said.
"If it is done in a way that EFSF should get a banking license, then it has to be clarified whether the EFSF is actually doing banking business. I would set a big question mark on that," he said, echoing comments by euro zone sources that the leveraging idea might encounter numerous legal challenges.
Leveraging would mean that the EFSF could guarantee to cover potential losses of the European Central Bank on purchases of bonds of distressed euro zone sovereigns, boosting the fund's intervention potential even fivefold, officials said.
"It has not been rejected and it has not been endorsed -- it is being discussed," a senior euro zone official said. "But the priority is the implementation of the current EFSF reform."
The euro zone agreed on July 21 to grant the EFSF powers to intervene on bond markets, give precautionary credit to governments and recapitalize banks.
But the changes have to be ratified by euro zone countries. The head of the EFSF, Klaus Regling, said he expected the new powers would be in place by mid-October.
Euro zone officials expressed confidence that Greece, which relies on the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund for emergency financing support, would get the next tranche of aid, if it meets EU/IMF conditions, by October 14.
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