*Indian banks studying impact of UK levy * **
** ** *Option to move business out of Britain not ruled out. * ------------------------------ * Tough measure ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank have subsidiaries in the UK. State Bank of India is going through the fine-print of the decision India against tax on banks to fund future bail-outs: Pranab * ------------------------------ Our Bureau Mumbai, June 23 The new levy on banks, domestic as well as foreign, proposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democratic Government in the United Kingdom in its maiden budget is unlikely to impact the earnings of Indian banks having operations there. There is no clarity as yet as to whether the new tax would be imposed on branches or subsidiaries or both of Indian and other foreign banks in the UK. According to reports in the UK press, the tax would be calculated on the basis of banks' total liabilities less core capital and insured deposits. According to Mr Ashwin Parekh, Partner, Ernst & Young, going by the home-host country regulation principle under the Basel II accord, the tax should be applicable only on banks incorporated in the UK. This could include subsidiaries of Indian banks in the UK. ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank have subsidiaries in the UK. All other banks - State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank have branches in UK. Mr P. Chaudhuri, Deputy Managing Director and Group Executive (International Banking), State Bank of India, said that the bank was going through the fine-print of the UK government's decision to levy a tax based on banks' balance-sheets to analyse if there would be any impact. £20-b base >From the initial reading of the proposal, it seems that the levy would impact banks having customer deposits of over £20 billion. In that case, it would exclude all Indian banks in the UK, said another bank official. It is possible that banks may try to move business out of the UK and reduce their balance-sheet sizes, if the levy would have a major impact, said an official from a public sector bank which has presence in the UK. “Nobody likes to pay taxes. If there is any impact on our profits, we may move businesses such as ECBs and debt financing out of the UK,'' he said. A spokesperson from ICICI Bank, which has a subsidiary in the UK, said the proposed bank tax on liabilities would not be applicable to the bank's subsidiary and therefore, there would be no impact. In an interview, in Washington, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said that taxing the banks for future bailouts is only a “compromise formula” and India is against any such levy. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/06/24/stories/2010062453150600.htm -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
