CS Venkatakrishnan, CEO at Barclays, seems to have admitted defeat over bank tax hikes, which are expected to be a headline measure in Healey’s budget next week. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
When asked whether the bank might consider tilting assets or investment out of the UK and to the US – where it also has operations – as a result of higher taxes, Venkatakrishnan gave his full backing to the chancellor.
“I recognise that the chancellor and the government has been entrusted with an important duty by the public and the people. And they have to balance a host of considerations. He [Healey] is the man in the arena, and I deeply respect the responsibility he bears on his shoulders and wish him well.”
His long term goal is the same as our long term goal, which is to get growth.
“Second, we are already a bank, which makes, effectively, half of our money elsewhere [outside] the UK. And so this is not a question of a financial hit to us. It’s bearable. It is a question of proportion and it’s a question of market signaling. But as I said, I deeply respect the responsibility that the chancellor has and he has our full support and backing.”
Bank bosses have been lobbying intensively against bank tax rises since narrowly escaping higher levies during last year’s budget.
That includes JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, who said earlier this year he could scrap plans for a new £3bn London headquarters if the UK government became hostile to banks. News of the tower – which will house more than half of its 23,000 UK staff – was unveiled just days after former Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves spared the sector of further tax rises in her 2025 autumn budget.