HSBC announced £7.5bn in profits during the second quarter, with earnings rising 60% compared to the same period last year. The bank attributed the strong performance to revenue generated through wealth management and insurance operations, alongside gains from elevated interest rates that enabled increased lending charges. Chief executive Georges Elhedery indicated the company would explore raising executive compensation packages and plans to resume share repurchase activities that had been halted earlier.
The combined profits for the UK’s four largest lenders—HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, and Lloyds—reached £29.2bn during the first half of the year, reigniting pressure from advocacy groups seeking increased taxation on the financial sector. Campaign organization Positive Money and trade union representatives including the Trades Union Congress have proposed implementing a windfall tax framework modeled on a Spanish banking levy that targets revenues above £800m at a 38% rate.
Positive Money calculated that such a tax could generate approximately £19bn in revenue. The group argued this amount would substantially exceed the cost of several government initiatives, including reductions to electricity bill charges, subsidized public transit fares, and business tax relief for hospitality and entertainment venues. According to Positive Money’s analysis, banks have directed nearly half their profits—totaling £13.7bn—to shareholders through dividend payments and buyback schemes, suggesting the financial capacity to accommodate additional taxation.
Banking sector representatives have expressed caution regarding new tax proposals while emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong lending capacity to support economic growth objectives. Meanwhile, additional advocacy groups have broadened the taxation debate to include environmental and human rights considerations, arguing that banks should face accountability for financing practices related to fossil fuels and industrial agriculture operations. These calls for increased taxation come amid ongoing public discussion about distributing the benefits of rising interest rates more equitably across different segments of the economy.
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