French, German resolution fund bill 15 billion euros per country: French finance minister

[November 04, 2014]  PARIS (Reuters) - France and Germany have agreed that banks in each country should pay 15 billion euros ($19 billion) toward a bank resolution fund designed to limit the fallout from a banking collapse, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday. 

Large French banks are concerned they could end-up footing the biggest bill for the 55 billion euro fund if contributions are set according to scale. BNP Paribas' <BNPP.PA> boss said last weekend that a figure of about 10 billion euros would be more reasonable for French banks.

BNP Paribas along with Groupe Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> and BPCE, parent of investment bank Natixis <CNAT.PA>, are among Europe's biggest banks in terms of assets. Germany has a higher proportion of smaller banks, even though it has Europe's biggest economy.

"We'll have a system of equal weights between France and Germany, even if Germany has a lot of small banks and German authorities want to contribute less, and we have large banks," Sapin told journalists. "(It will be) about 15 billion euros."

BNP Paribas Chief Executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe told Le Figaro newspaper on Saturday he believed around 10 billion euros would be a fair contribution from French banks, citing their relatively low risk profile. He described as "exorbitant" a figure of 16 billion euros cited in media reports as the likely French bill.

Germany had lobbied for all banks with assets below 500 million euros to be excluded from making any contribution to the common fund, known as the Single Resolution Mechanism.

Sapin said the French government was working with banks toward the idea of making some of their contributions tax deductible.

(Reporting By Yann Le Guernigou; Writing by Nicholas Vinocur and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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