Brussels bank buster

Reuters continued its dominance in Brussels, reporting first that the EU executive was proposing a one-off tax on banks which could raise up to 50 billion euros to pay for the euro zone’s planned post-2013 rescue fund for members sinking under the weight of their debts. The European Commission document seen exclusively by Reuters also said the fund should be allowed to buy government bonds, which could enable the European Central Bank to step back from the bond-purchase programme it began last May, something some of its members have been lobbying for. The proposal has a long way to go to be put into action but several European banking groups immediately howled in protest, saying they were already carrying a heavy tax burden.