The IMF examines the trail of a premium for banks

PARIS (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund explores the possibility of charging the banks a premium for insurance to fund any future bailouts in the sector, said on Sunday its director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, he added that such a tax was in the same spirit that made the proposal during the weekend by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has called for urgent consideration to the track a tax on financial transactions ().

Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the IMF's goal was not to establish a global tax on financial transactions, type "Tobin" tax, another proposal made by Gordon Brown.

But the articles in the British press reports of a disagreement between the IMF and London on the principle of imposing a tax are false, he said.

"The IMF is not working on a Tobin tax" because such a tax might not be implemented, he said.

"We work on a tax on the financial sector is in line with what was said Gordon Brown, to pay an insurance premium to economic activity that is more risky than others," Dominique Strauss continued Kahn.

The IMF in April will present concrete proposals on the tax to finance ministers of the G20, which are well screened before being submitted to the leaders of the G20 in June

Brian Love, French version Benoit Van Overstraeten