12/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - In the Financial Times on Monday 12 July, the director-general of the Italian bank UniCredit wrote that several European banks have been discussing the possibility of setting up a €20 billion fund that could be used to help in the event of another financial crisis. This fund would allow banks to receive government aid and avoid a general tax on the banks, as called for by certain countries, including France, underlined Alessandro Profumo, writing in a newspaper column. The European commissioner for the internal market, Michel Barnier, said that the own initiative of the big banks discussed by Profumo was “quite encouraging”. On 20 May, the European Commission proposed to set up national assistance funds by way of a contribution from the banks, to tackle future financial crises. (L.C./transl.fl)