Overview

• Barclays chief CS Venkatakrishnan cautioned that higher bank taxes would conflict with the government’s goal of driving quality growth by funding key sectors.
• HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery said additional levies risk eroding the bank’s capacity to invest and support customers, ultimately harming economic expansion.
• Lloyds boss Charlie Nunn and NatWest head Paul Thwaite argued that strong economies depend on robust banks and that tax increases would undermine lending plans.
• Data from UK Finance shows the banking sector paid £44.8 billion in taxes for the year to March 2024, at an effective rate of 45.8%, one of the highest rates globally.
• Think tank Positive Money has proposed a 38% windfall surcharge on retail banking profits above £800 million, estimating it could raise £11.3 billion for the Treasury.