Short-term pain for banks ‘will be alleviated’

The imposition of a bank levy will hit short-term profits, but this will be more than compensated for by the removal of limits on the amount of deferred tax assets that can be written off against future profits.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan announced in the budget that a bank levy would collect €150m each year over a three-year period from 2014.

Mr Noonan said banks had played a prominent role in the economic crisis and “it is about time that the banks helped out”.