The European Central Bank may issue a negative opinion on Spain’s bank tax proposal, although details are still lacking, Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Tuesday.
“In general, in the case of other countries it is not easy to establish a tax that does not end up affecting credit, interest rates or the resilience of banks, and the ECB’s opinion ends up being negative,” he said.
The Spanish government announced the creation of the tax earlier this month, saying the temporary levy on banks should bring in €3bn in 2023-2024 to help Spaniards cope with rising inflation.
“What is requested from the ECB’s perspective is that a potential tax does not affect monetary policy (…) and on the other hand does not affect financial stability, that is, the resistance capacity of the banks,” he said. .
“We don’t know the details, when we know them the ECB will have to issue an opinion,” he said.
The proposal is expected to be tabled in parliament this week.
The governor also said he will likely revise down the country’s economic growth prospects in 2022 and even more significantly for 2023.
Hernández de Cos indicated that this would also apply to the prospects for economic growth in the euro zone.
The Spanish government on Tuesday raised its inflation forecasts for 2022 and 2023 and lowered its economic growth target for 2023.