Chancellor John Healey has summoned the bosses of Britain’s biggest banks for talks ahead of the autumn Budget, as pressure mounts on the government to raise taxes on lenders while the City warns that further increases could undermine investment.
The meeting is expected to take place in person next Tuesday, with the chief executives of Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC and NatWest Group reportedly invited, alongside the heads of Santander UK and Nationwide Building Society.
The Treasury has declined to comment on the reported meeting, maintaining its policy of not discussing Budget speculation or potential measures.
The talks come as pressure builds from campaigners and trade unions for banks to contribute more to the public finances. The TUC and Positive Money have both backed higher taxes on bank profits, arguing that additional revenue could be used to support households facing continued cost-of-living pressures.
But the financial sector has warned that another tax increase could damage Britain’s competitiveness as an international financial centre.
David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, has argued that the “increasingly cumulative tax burden” on financial companies risks gradually weakening 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.
The warning has been echoed by Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan, who has cautioned against increasing the surcharge on bank profits, arguing that higher taxation could encourage investment to move overseas.
The stakes are significant for the Treasury. HM Revenue & Customs figures show that the banking sector paid £39.1bn in tax during the 2025-26 financial year, an 8.5 per cent increase on the previous year.
Receipts from the bank surcharge rose by about a fifth as lenders benefited from stronger profits. The surcharge currently stands at 3 per cent, but the TUC has called for it to rise to at least 8 per cent, estimating that the increase could raise £9bn over four years.
City policymakers have urged the government to resist sector-specific measures.
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said his message to Healey was to “do no harm”.
“That means no bank windfall tax, no other sector-specific tax rises, and keeping the VAT exemption for financial services,” he said.
For Healey, the dilemma is increasingly clear: banks represent a substantial and visible source of potential tax revenue, but the government is simultaneously seeking to promote investment and financial-sector growth.
The Chancellor is understood to be focused on providing families and businesses with “breathing space”, delivering “growth in every postcode” and maintaining the government’s fiscal rules.
The meeting next week will offer bank chiefs an opportunity to make the case that extracting more revenue from lenders could carry a wider economic cost just as ministers seek to strengthen Britain’s growth prospects.
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