Barclays joins rival in cautioning against hiking bank taxes

The boss of Barclays has become the latest to caution the Chancellor against hiking taxes for banks in her autumn budget as she looks to bolster the public finances.
Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, who is also known as Venkat, said that increasing taxes for banks โ or other important sectors of the economy โ was not consistent with aims to boost economic growth.
He said banks were already โamong the biggest tax payers in this countryโ and an important sector to help drive economic activity, with growth โthe primary objective for the UKโ.
โThere are many other important sectors.
โWe want all those sectors to prosper,โ he added.
His comments come after Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Charlie Nunn said last week that raising taxes on banks would be at odds with the Governmentโs pro-growth aims.
There has been increasing speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may look to raise taxes, with the banking sector rumoured to be among those potentially in the firing line, as she faces pressure over the UKโs public finances following higher-than-expected Government borrowing and U-turns on some spending cuts.
Venkatโs comments came as the group revealed that half-year profits jumped by nearly a quarter thanks to an investment banking boost amid financial market volatility sparked by US President Donald Trumpโs tariff war.
The high street lender reported a 23% rise in pre-tax profits to ยฃ5.2 billion for the six months to June 30.
This came despite it booking credit impairment charges of ยฃ1.1 billion, up from ยฃ897 million a year earlier, after putting by another ยฃ469 million in the second quarter.
The bank said the rise was largely due to its takeover of Tesco Bank and a more uncertain economic outlook, especially in the US.
Its results were better than expected for the second quarter, with profits up 28% to ยฃ2.5 billion thanks to forecast-beating revenues in its investment banking arm amid market volatility.
Income in its investment banking business lifted 10% to ยฃ3.3 billion in the second quarter.
Venkat said: โWe remain on track to achieve the objectives of our three-year plan, delivering structurally higher and more stable returns for our investors.โ
Barclays unveiled more returns for investors, with plans for another ยฃ1 billion in share buybacks, and said it has cut around ยฃ350 million of costs out of the ยฃ500 million in savings planned for 2025.