Austria plans levy on banks

Austria is set to impose a €500m levy on the country’s banks to help compensate taxpayers for costly public efforts to prop up the financial system during the economic crisis.

Werner Faymann, the Austrian Chancellor, announced the measure following a meeting on the 22 February 2010 with banking supervisors and the heads of big Austrian lenders, including Raiffeisen Zentralbank, Bank Austria and Erste Group.

The announcement came amid a continuing European and transatlantic debate about how to recoup the huge public funds spent on rescuing the global banking system and ensure greater stability in the future.

ESO: Background information: Recession exposes rift in Austrian banking http://www.europeansources.info/record/recession-exposes-rift-in-austrian-banking/

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