The Obama administration is considering levying a fee on banks to recoup taxpayer funds spent to rescue the financial sector, according to administration officials.
The proposal is still under discussion and no final decision has been made. The concept is expected to be included in next month's budget.
One option involves placing a fee on a bank's liabilities, a number that theoretically represents the amount of risk a bank takes on, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Another would put the fee on banks' profits, as an approximation of their success and ability to absorb such a fee, these people said.
The fee could be designed to avoid hitting certain parts of the financial industry, such as community banks.
