Will Gordon Brown now go ahead with his own financial crisis responsibility fee?
With news that the US government is pushing through a financial crisis responsibility fee which could cost some of the largest US banks in the region of $2 billion a year, there is speculation that the UK government could follow suit and announce its own punitive measures. While the situation in the US is far worse than that in the UK, with the US authorities estimated to have lost $117 billion from the financial bailout, there is no doubt that UK taxpayers have suffered.
Whether the introduction of a similar penalty charge in the UK would be a step too far, bearing in mind the 50% banking bonus tax, remains to be seen but Gordon Brown is unlikely to let the US situation pass by. Again, as we approach the UK election all political parties are looking to curry favour with UK voters and what better way than continuing to batter the UK banking arena?
So far there has been no official response from the UK government although it is known that UK operations with exposure to the US will be expected to contribute to the financial crisis responsibility fee program. Times are tough in the worldwide banking arena and they are about to get a whole lot tougher!
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