The banks are taking the ASX down again

Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images

Shares in the major banks dragged on the local market again.

A short time ago, the ASX200 was at 5,819.10, down 59.24 points or 1.01%.

The Commonwealth dropped 1.3% to $81.00, Westpac 1.2% to $32.23, the ANZ 1.2% to $28.95 and NAB 1.1% to $31.93.

Macquarie was down 1.8% to $91.85.

The banks went into a slide this week after the federal government announced a levy of $1.5 billion a year on the five biggest banks.

Analysts say the new tax will reduce average bank profits by between 5% and 6%.

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