The European Commission has proposed an EU network of bank resolution funds to help ensure that taxpayers do not have to pay for bank failures in the future.
The example of some member states, such as Sweden, that have already introduced a bank levy is believed to have influenced the proposals of EU policy makers. Although there has been support for the idea, some member states are not keen on the revenue being given to the EU.
Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Banking Association (BBA), has deep reservations about an EU wide tax being put into a pan-European fund.
"Why should the banks in one country pay for the problems of banks in another? As has been seen by the Greece crisis, what is essential is that each country must take its own actions and early," she said in a statement.
However, a senior member of the European Commission said that the plan was not ever to put any revenue from a levy into a pan-European fund.
"The Commission is not proposing a common EU fund. It's a network of national funds that will operate in a European context," said Barnier in a statement.
The Commission's proposal has not come as a surprise to most commentators.
"We know a bank levy is on the way, and we can see the document is couched carefully to reflect the very different views of member states," said Brian Mairs, spokesman for the BBA.
"And we agree entirely with the principle that the industry must not expect the taxpayer to pay for its failures," he added.
"It is fairly settled that banking levies are coming, especially in countries that were badly affected by the financial crisis," said Simon Letherman, counsel at Shearman & Sterling, a law firm based in London.
Letherman thinks that the proposed banking levy is part of a wider EU policy agenda.
"One of the motivations for the EC proposal may be a desire to push for market harmonisation. If all banks behave differently this could create arbitrage opportunities," he said.
There is a greater chance of an EU wide bank levy getting support if the Commission can persuade the G20 members of the merit of the proposal at this month's meeting in Toronto.
"We'll probably have to wait for the G20 meeting in Toronto, which will be interesting as it covers all the major financial centres," said Letherman.
