British bank sector hails Obama bank levy as fair (AFP)

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By Guy Jackson

LONDON — British bankers have welcomed US President Barack Obama's announcement of a levy to raise 90 billion dollars to recoup the Wall Street bailout, saying it restores parity to the global banking sector ...

Until now, bankers in the City of London, the other main financial centre along with Wall Street, have claimed they were unfairly penalised by the tough conditions imposed by the British Treasury when it intervened to prop up banks.

British banks have also argued that the government's imposition of a 50-percent tax rate on bonuses until April could cause high performers to pack their bags and head for jobs in countries with less restrictive rules ...

So the British Bankers' Association (BBA), an industry body representing the sector, welcomed the Obama plan as a "levelling of the playing field" ...

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