Tucker proposes bank levy
Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker yesterday said that a new levy should be in place to force banks to cough up for the cost of future crises . Tucker said that if the government is required to provide rescue funds in the future, there should be a system in place to force banks to foot the bill. He proposed future regulators should consider whether banks should raise “contingent capital”, or debt that would automatically convert to cash in the event of an extreme downturn. Tucker said that if banks were aware they would foot the bill, they might take less risks.