UK to scale back £8bn bank levy

摘要

Britain will largely replace a levy on bank balance sheets with a surcharge on profits in a move experts said would help quell talk among lenders of moving elsewhere to lighten their regulatory burden. UK Chancellor George Osborne offered further comfort to banks facing a welter of new rules since the financial crisis by asking their regulator, the Bank of England, to help keep Britain a "highly attractive" location for lenders. The bank levy was introduced in 2011 in response to the financial crisis and applies to the global balance sheet assets of British banks as well as assets belonging to the UK operations of foreign banks. It has raised more than £8bn and is now expected to raise nearly £4bn annually. Banks said the tax was unfair as it becomes more punitive when profitability falls. Europe's biggest bank, hsbc, has said the levy will be a factor in whether it decides to keep its headquarters in Britain.