BBC News (Link) (September 19, 2009)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will urge fellow G20 leaders to introduce a special tax to reduce risky behaviour by banks, the BBC has learned.
Mr Sarkozy wants a levy known as a Tobin Tax to be applied to every financial transaction.
The move is aimed at cutting excessively speculative trades and encouraging long-term decision-making.
But senior EU officials told the BBC that the chances of getting a global agreement were "less than minimal".
The proposal does not yet have the formal backing of the EU or Germany - France's largest trading partner - and according to the BBC's business reporter Joe Lynam, it is widely expected to face resistance from Britain and the US, home to the world's largest financial centres.
The issue of bankers' pay, especially bonuses, will be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, next weekend.
There will be no suggestion of capping individual bonuses, our correspondent says, but it is likely that overall bonuses as a proportion of a company's earnings could be restricted.
There may also be a possibility of payment deferral and the option of clawing payments back should decisions by bankers prove to have been excessively risky or erroneous.
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