Poland's Belka says banks able to 'swallow' new asset tax

WARSAW: Polish banks will be able to cope with the asset tax imposed by the new conservative government, head of Poland's central bank Marek Belka said on Wednesday.

Poland's parliament approved earlier this month a bill that imposes a tax of 0.0366 percent on lenders' assets per month, excluding government bonds, despite concern from the European Central Bank.

"The bank (asset) tax ... obviously weakens banks, (but) banks will swallow it, because it's a significant amount but banks will make up for it in time with higher fees," Belka said.