Assaf, Minister of Finance, said Saturday that the G20 meeting in Toronto would see “no financial commitments placed on the Kingdom”, Al-Watan Arabic daily reported Sunday. Muhammad Al-Jasser, the governor of the Kingdom's central bank SAMA, was meanwhile reported by Al-Watan as saying that Saudi Arabia was one of the “five most important and influential countries in the G20 group”. “There are no plans to buy European sovereign debt,” Al-Jasser was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Al-Jasser also said the Kingdom will not implement proposed new bank taxes. Germany, France and Britain are planning additional taxes but Canada and several emerging market economies in the G20 do not want to do likewise. The draft summit communique showed countries would be given a choice whether to levy taxes on banks to recoup bailout costs, and can phase in stricter bank capital rules to fit national needs.
