ECB and Spain set for potential clash over bank windfall tax
Spain has put itself on a potential collision course with the European Central Bank by proposing a tax on banks that executives say clashes with European rules and threatens to weaken the sector.
The ECB is preparing to issue an opinion on the tax within weeks, according to its vice-president Luis de Guindos, a critical moment for Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, who is championing the levy along with his Socialist-led coalition government.
Private lenders said the fact the government wants to stop them passing the cost of the tax on to clients is incompatible with EU regulation and potentially destabilising.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Barney Jopson
