Berlin and Paris eye bank levy to fund bail-outs

Germany and France called on the 31 April 2010 for an international bank levy as Wolfgang Schäuble, German finance minister, outlined plans to force his country’s banks to pay €1.2bn into an insurance fund to cover bail-outs in a future crisis.

Report of a German cabinet meeting in Berlin, 31 March 2010, at which French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde attended as part of a Franco-German initiative to get the two governments to liaise more closely on policies.

ESO: Background information: Austria plans levy on banks http://www.europeansources.info/record/austria-plans-levy-on-banks/

ESO: Background information: G7 warms to idea of bank levy http://www.europeansources.info/record/g7-warms-to-idea-of-bank-levy/

ESO: Background information: Paris looks for €360m from bank bonus tax http://www.europeansources.info/record/paris-looks-for-e360m-from-bank-bonus-tax/

Deutsche Welle, 31.3.10: Berlin approves bank levy plan to fund future bailouts http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5417483,00.html

France24, 31.3.10: Berlin agrees bank tax to fund future bailouts http://www.france24.com/en/20100331-germany-banking-tax-funding-future-bailouts-crisis-schaeuble-lagarde-france

EurActiv, 1.4.10: EU readies G20 proposal on bank and carbon levies http://www.euractiv.com/euro-finance/eu-readies-g20-proposal-bank-car-news-399928

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