EU backs bank tax to recoup billions

EU leaders agreed member states should introduce systems of both levies and taxes on banks to claw back the billions of euro taxpayers have sunk into rescuing them, but this is likely to be done on a country by country basis.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen would not say what form this would take in Ireland.

He said Ireland already had such a charge based on the money being paid by the banks for the state guarantee scheme.