Italy's Salvini calls for 5% annual levy on top 10 banks

ROME, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Italy's coalition League party will propose a three-year levy on the country's 10 largest banks in the 2027 budget to help support public finances, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"We as the League will ask, and I am convinced the entire coalition will support us, for a three-year contribution from the top 10 Italian banks," Salvini was quoted by AGI news agency as saying during a visit to a construction site in Rome.

Salvini said that if annual profits in the banking sector came in at around €30 billion ($35 billion), the government should seek "5% a year for three years".

Salvini said Italy's two biggest banks had reported combined first-half profits of almost €12 billion, implying annual earnings of more than €24 billion. Intesa Sanpaolo   and UniCredit  are the two largest players in a sector that is being reshaped by a wave of M&A activity.

He said any tax hike would target only the country's largest lenders and not smaller local banks.

The Italian government already tapped the financial sector for more cash in its 2026 budget, raising up to €6 billion through a raft of tax hikes impacting banks, insurance companies and market transactions.

($1 = 0.8669 euros)

(Reporting by Crispian BalmerEditing by Keith Weir)