Weekly Global News Wrap Up: EU banks' foreign deposits fall amidst money laundering probe; Sweden mulls bank tax

And a California bill proposes creation of local banks.

From Reuters: European banks succumbed to a 12% decrease to $1.2t in foreign deposits in H2 2018 after banks were hit by money-laundering scandals, according to data from the European Central Bank.

The fall in foreign deposits began in the second half of last year, the data show. That coincided with prosecutors opening a probe in July into Danske Bank for alleged money laundering at its Estonian branch, in what soon emerged as one of the biggest illicit financial operations in Europe.

From Bloomberg: Sweden finance minister revealed that the government is eyeing to impose tax on the financial sector, specifically singling out banks with far more precision than previous proposals.

The proposal -- part of a broader planned tax reform -- is likely to make its way through parliament as banks in Sweden get dragged into a money laundering scandal that has dominated headlines across the Nordic and Baltic regions.

From CNBC: A new bill proposed in California eyes to allow municipalities to create local or regional banks in a bid to use public banking against ‘income inequality’.
“It is time that banks start working on behalf of people, not Wall Street investors,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, co-sponsor of AB 857. He said the new institutions could make loans and invest depositors money in funds or companies and organizations that comport with local values.