# Bank levy



## ipxl (18 Sep 2009)

Since a bank levy has been mooted as one way in which the state (or NAMA) could recoup losses (glass half full outlook)...

Can someone give a background on the previously introduced bank levy (which I understand was removed again some years ago)?

I ask because a very entrenched Bank shareholder in his own language told me , as part of his argument to defend NAMA, that the state had previously raided the banks particularly in the case of the levy.

As Joe Citizen with much less acute financial awareness at the time I guess that levy came and went and passed me by. What was its context and what sort of lobbying was done to remove it ?


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## dazza21ie (18 Sep 2009)

If memory serves me correct Charlie McCreevy put a €100 million levy on the banks for a couple of years to get some easy money so i presume this could be done at any stage should the government want to recoup losses.


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## TarfHead (18 Sep 2009)

dazza21ie said:


> If memory serves me correct ..


 
.. the bank levy was in effect long before McCreevy became Minister for Finance. It may even have dated back to the Government bailout of AIB over Insurance Corporation.


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## Sunny (18 Sep 2009)

TarfHead said:


> .. the bank levy was in effect long before McCreevy became Minister for Finance. It may even have dated back to the Government bailout of AIB over Insurance Corporation.


 
No this is a different one. They took €100m a year for three years. 2002 to 2005 I think. McCreevy stood up and basically said the banks should share some of their good fortune with the public finances. Suppose they had to pay for benchmarking!


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