Brown to push bank bailout plan at summit

He also wants Commonwealth leaders meeting in Trinidad and Tobago from Friday to give a push to climate change negotiations and to send a signal that Zimbabwe could be re-admitted to the 53-nation organisation if it goes through with reforms.

Brown, whose government spent billions bailing out British banks, pressed the Group of 20 major economies this month to come up with a plan to make banks pay for any future rescues.

One option Brown mentioned, a global financial transactions tax, was immediately shot down by the United States.

Brown indicated he was not discouraged by the initially cool reception given to his proposal and would continue to push it at the Commonwealth meeting, which includes big economies such as Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa.

"You've got to look at this at a global level. I will be raising this with my Commonwealth partners," he said in a pre-summit briefing for reporters on Wednesday. Brown's office asked that his remarks not be published until Friday.

"You can look at an insurance scheme. You can look at the creation of resolution funds. You can look at asking banks to hold contingent capital. Or you can look at a transactions or a global levy of some sort," he said.

"I think I will find a great deal of support from a large number of countries around the world ... I think ... there will be gradually more support for the proposals I am putting forward," he said.

ZIMBABWE

Brown also wants the Commonwealth to dangle the carrot of re-admission before Zimbabwe to encourage reform there.