Bank tax far from becoming a reality

President Obama's call for Congress to create a tax on banks that take extraordinary risks is a work in progress, at best. 

Two meetings on Capitol Hill were expected to take place on the subject yesterday, but one of them failed to happen. 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was scheduled to meet with House Ways and Means members to discuss the tax, but talks about financial reform postponed the meeting for another day.  Members on that committee are in the early stages of working on the tax.

In the Senate, Finance staffers on Thursday met with regulators about the tax. The meeting was more informational than substantive, according to several sources. 

Lobbyists expect Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to hold a series of hearing on creating the tax. Until those hearings conclude, they do not expect to see legislation on the tax. A markup on the bill could come by Memorial Day.