ECONOMY

Bank levy may be used for Greece, says report

Eurozone governments are considering a levy on banks as a way to involve private creditors in a bailout of Greece, Germany’s Die Welt newspaper reported on Monday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

“A few days before a crisis summit in Brussels the governments of the 17 euro countries are considering involving the private sector via a new banking levy in a future rescue of highly indebted Greece,» the newspaper reported, according to a news release which it issued ahead of publication.

“The banking levy shall also be valid for financial institutions in euro zone countries that are not directly engaged in Greece,» the report said.

It gave no further details of the levy, but added that it would be imposed alongside a buy-back of Greek government bonds.

Germany already plans a bank levy from the end of September to pay into a fund designed to relieve taxpayers of the cost of future bank bailouts. The levy will bring in around 1 billion euros a year.

According to Die Welt, the International Monetary Fund is angered by Europe’s crisis management and «influential parties» in the fund wish not to take part in further Greek rescue programmes. The report did not give details of this.

[Reuters]

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