Chancellor John Healey has summoned the chiefs of the UK’s biggest banks to a meeting ahead of his autumn Budget statement, amid growing calls from the industry to avoid further tax measures targeting lenders.
The meeting is due to take place in person next Tuesday, Sky News reported. Executives from Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC and NatWest Group have reportedly been asked to attend, with invitations also extended to the bosses of Santander UK and Nationwide Building Society.
The Treasury did not comment on the reports, saying it does not comment on speculation or proposals surrounding the Budget.
The Trades Union Congress and campaign group Positive Money have called for higher taxes on Britain’s banks, arguing that additional revenue could help support households facing cost-of-living pressures. The TUC has called for the banking surcharge on profits to rise from 3% to at least 8%, saying this could raise £9 billion for the Treasury over four years.
Industry leaders have warned that further measures could damage confidence and investment in the City. David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, said the financial sector’s “increasingly cumulative tax burden” threatened to gradually erode the UK’s position as a global financial hub.
“If we want the UK to thrive, we must ensure our operating environment attracts international capital rather than pushing it elsewhere,” he said.
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has also warned against increasing the surcharge, saying it could encourage investment to move to other countries.
HMRC figures show that tax paid by the banking sector increased by 8.5% to £39.1 billion in the 2025-26 tax year. Receipts from the surcharge rose by a fifth year on year, largely because profits across the industry increased.
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, urged Mr Healey to “do no harm”, including by avoiding a bank windfall tax, other sector-specific tax rises and changes to the VAT exemption for financial services.
The report said Mr Healey was focused on the Government’s priorities, including giving families and businesses “breathing space”, delivering “growth in every postcode” and meeting its fiscal rules.
