Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn
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Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year. Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages. The HSBC chief executive, Georges Elhedery, said he would consider increasing banker bonuses on the back of the strong results and planned to restart a share buy-back programme that had been on pause since last year. It brings collective profits for the four largest banks – HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds – to £29.2bn over the first six months of the year, putting lenders back in the crosshairs ...