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By Huw Jones

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov 7 (Reuters) - World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax.
France and Germany have led the way in Europe on seeking to force the financial sector to return some of the billions of public dollars ploughed into banks over a year of financial crisis.
London to date had resisted, mindful of the interests of its powerful financial services industry, which generates a large proportion of Britain's tax revenues, growth and jobs.
"We should discuss whether we need a better economic and social contract to reflect the global responsibilities of financial institutions to society," Brown told a meeting of financial policymakers from the G20 group of countries in Scotland.
"There have been proposals for an insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global transaction levy," he said.
Brown's government this week forked out another 30 billion pounds on bailing out two of its biggest banks for the second time, and opinion polls all show him heading for a hammering by the opposition conservatives in next year's election.
Brown said the International Monetary Fund would review the possibility of a global transaction tax and report back in April next year -- signalling the G20 had agreed as a group to take up the matter more seriously.
"I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome that a globally cohesive system requires and raises.
"But I do not think these issues should prevent us from considering with urgency the legitimate issues I have discussed."
Britain has repeatedly rejected a long-standing idea for a so-called Tobin Tax on foreign exchange transactions.
G20 officials said the levy mentioned by Brown would be broader and could be on all financial transactions or bank earnings. The levy would be small, perhaps around 0.005 percent be much lower than a Tobin Tax.
Officials at the G20 meeting said a levy and the funds raised could be used not only to pay for future bank bailouts but also to fund development and other areas.
Brown said any measure would have to be global in nature and implemented by all the world's main financial centres in the United States, European Union, Asia, Middle East and Switzerland.
A levy must also not result in avoidance or reductions on capital flows, he said. It must also be "fair, measured and enable financial services to make their necessary contribution to future economic growth."
The idea of a global fund was aired this week by Deutsche Bank Chairman, Josef Ackermann, who said it would avoid "the midnight scramble for funds before the Tokyo market opens" -- referring to how bank rescues are typically put together hastily late at night in time for a reopening of trading.
But Ackermann said such as fund could be a partnership between governments and the financial sector rather than relying purely on banks.
(Editing by Patrick Graham) Keywords: G20 BROWN/TAX

(Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Huw Jones

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov 7 (Reuters) - World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London's longstanding resistance to a global tax.
France and Germany have led the way in Europe on seeking to force the financial sector to return some of the billions of public dollars ploughed into banks over a year of financial crisis.
London to date had resisted, mindful of the interests of its powerful financial services industry, which generates a large proportion of Britain's tax revenues, growth and jobs.
"We should discuss whether we need a better economic and social contract to reflect the global responsibilities of financial institutions to society," Brown told a meeting of financial policymakers from the G20 group of countries in Scotland.
"There have been proposals for an insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global transaction levy," he said.
Brown's government this week forked out another 30 billion pounds on bailing out two of its biggest banks for the second time, and opinion polls all show him heading for a hammering by the opposition conservatives in next year's election.
Brown said the International Monetary Fund would review the possibility of a global transaction tax and report back in April next year -- signalling the G20 had agreed as a group to take up the matter more seriously.
"I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome that a globally cohesive system requires and raises.
"But I do not think these issues should prevent us from considering with urgency the legitimate issues I have discussed."
Britain has repeatedly rejected a long-standing idea for a so-called Tobin Tax on foreign exchange transactions.
G20 officials said the levy mentioned by Brown would be broader and could be on all financial transactions or bank earnings. The levy would be small, perhaps around 0.005 percent be much lower than a Tobin Tax.
Officials at the G20 meeting said a levy and the funds raised could be used not only to pay for future bank bailouts but also to fund development and other areas.
Brown said any measure would have to be global in nature and implemented by all the world's main financial centres in the United States, European Union, Asia, Middle East and Switzerland.
A levy must also not result in avoidance or reductions on capital flows, he said. It must also be "fair, measured and enable financial services to make their necessary contribution to future economic growth."
The idea of a global fund was aired this week by Deutsche Bank Chairman, Josef Ackermann, who said it would avoid "the midnight scramble for funds before the Tokyo market opens" -- referring to how bank rescues are typically put together hastily late at night in time for a reopening of trading.
But Ackermann said such as fund could be a partnership between governments and the financial sector rather than relying purely on banks.
(Editing by Patrick Graham) Keywords: G20 BROWN/TAX

(Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A tax on financial transactions to fund future bank bailouts should be considered with urgency, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, a significant departure from London's line to date.
Policymakers are looking at ways to learn from the credit crunch and avoid the need for more massive taxpayer funded bank bailouts in future.
Mindful of the interests of the City of London, Brown has defended the financial sector against more aggressive moves on regulation by other European governments in the past.
"There have been proposals for an insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global transaction levy," Brown told a meeting of the G20 group of leading countries in Scotland.
He said, though, that all countries would have to act together for Britain to join in.
"I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome that a globally cohesive system requires and raises," Brown said.
"But I do not think these issues should prevent us from considering with urgency the legitimate issues I have discussed."
(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Patrick Graham) Keywords: G20 BROWN/TAX

(Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Following is the view from Reuters editors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on the news that is likely to matter most for the week ahead starting Nov 7. -- C BANKERS & ECOFIN - G20 follow-up in Europe -- KRAFT/CADBURY - Deadline for bid -- BANKS Q3 - HSBC, Barclays results -- EUROPEAN Q3 GDPs - Key to ECB's next move -- GOLD - New heights eyed and industrial metals follow -- REUTERS HEALTH SUMMIT - Top industry execs meet in NYC -- OIC SUMMIT - Ahmadinejad, Karzai, Bashir, Assad expected -- RUSSIA STATE OF THE NATION - New initiatives from Medvedev? -- CLIMATE - UN deal deadline looks doomed -- END OF THE WALL - World leaders fete 20th anniversary

C BANKERS & ECOFIN

Hot on the heels of the G20 we have the Global Economy Meeting of central bankers in Basel on Sunday/Monday, with doorstepping on Sunday a news conference led by ECB chief Trichet on Monday. Euro group and ECOFIN meetings of finance ministers on Monday/Tuesday will also focus on the outcome of the G20 and the European Commission's recent major growth and deficit forecasts. Greece will probably emerge as the bad boy of Europe again. (andrew.torchia@reuters.com)

KRAFT/CADBURY

With the put up or shut up deadline set for Monday at 1700 GMT, we are on alert from for any whiff of an announcement from Kraft and any sign of an 11th hour competing bid. Part of any offer will be valuation with analysts now uncertain whether Cadbury would fetch more than 8 pounds a share (chris.wickham@reuters.com)

Q3 BANK RESULTS

HSBC, Barclays, Unicredit, and Credit Agricole - underlying investment bank performance in focus after weak RBS showing. Bonuses and asset sales still hot themes and geographical exposure - HSBC to Asia, Unicredit to eastern and central Europe. (chris.wickham@reuters.com)

Q3 GDP

Flash euro zone Q3 GDP data (preceded by German and French releases) will help shape expectations of when the ECB will begin to withdraw excess liquidity. Expected to be relatively strong (about 2 pct annualised or 0.5 pct q/q). Also expected to be a better reflection of improving PMIs than UK GDP was. Such considerations are key drivers of euro/sterling and the gilt/Bund spread which has widened to close to its year highest. All the more so given the BOE Inflation Report next week will show the UK central bank's view on the mid-term inflation outlook, the basis on which it decided to expand its QE programme, and just how long it expects the economy to require its support.