𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Rachel Reeves has called in the bosses of the UK biggest banks for crunch talks as the Chancellor grapples with the deepening economic fallout from the war in Iran.

Leading executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and Santander UK have been asked to attend the meeting with her on Wednesday, according to Sky News. Nationwide, the country’s biggest building society, has also been invited. Sources told the outlet that Vim Maru, Barclays’ retail banking chief; Paul Thwaite, the NatWest CEO; Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds; Mahesh Aditya, Santander UK’s new chief executive; Debbie Crosbie, the Nationwide CEO, are all expected to attend. It is not yet clear if HSBC will be represented by chief executive Georges Elhedery.

It was not clear whether HSBC would be represented by chief executive Georges Elhedery or another senior executive.

The UK will be the hardest hit among advanced economies by the energy shock resulting from the Iran war, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sources said that several large UK banks are expected to increase their loan loss provisions in first-quarter results, after cutting their internal forecasts for economic growth in 2026.

One of the subjects that is likely to be raised by the chancellor on Wednesday are banks’ ongoing commitment to supporting customers affected by inflationary pressures linked to the Middle East crisis.

Bank capital reforms are also expected to be discussed, along with possible changes to the ring-fencing regime introduced following the 2008 financial crisis.