New bank taxes could hit recovery - BBA

LONDON (Reuters) - The government could undermine a recovery in the banking sector if it hits lenders with fresh taxes, Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association (BBA), told The Daily Telegraph.

"I would caution the government against it," Knight told the paper, in a report on Monday.

Knight said a blanket tax would unfairly penalise the majority of banks, which had not turned to the taxpayer for support.

"There needs to be a much better and open discussion about how banking interacts with the rest of the economy and the importance of that. It links directly into jobs, economic recovery and paying back the taxpayer," Knight told the paper.

A spokeswoman for the BBA had nothing further to add to Knight's comments when contacted by Reuters.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Steve Orlofsky)