BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Central Bank has a very cautious view
on the introduction of bank levies as proposed by the European
Commission, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a newspaper
interview published Monday.
“We take a very cautious view on bank taxes,” Trichet told French
daily Le Monde.
“It seems to us that we must first draw the lessons from the
financial crisis with regard to prudential regulations, in particular
the Basel III rules. The question of a possible tax should come second,”
he said.
Last week, European Commissioner for Internal Markets, Michel
Barnier, unveiled plans from the EU’s executive arm for the introduction
of national bank levies EU-wide, which would be used to prevent future
bank crises and protect taxpayers from having to foot the bill in the
future. The plans weren’t specific about the value of such funds or how
exactly the money should be used.
On a more philosophical note, Trichet said: “I am deeply concerned
by this gulf between the values of our democracies and those of the
financial world, reflected particularly in the abnormal behaviours
observed so often in recent years.”
He added: “This problem is faced by all of our democratic
societies, and certainly on both sides of the Atlantic. The values of
the financial world must change. In the prevailing ethos, they will no
longer be tolerated as they are.”
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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