Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, will discuss bank taxes and the U.K.'s plans to boost the finance sector's competitiveness in a telephone call next week with U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.
The call comes after
Hunt has said he would raise corporation tax to 25% from April. Banks are also paying an 8% surcharge on their profits. Unless Hunt reduces the surcharge, lenders will be taxed at 33%, up from 27% now, a level that is much higher than other financial centers such as New York or Frankfurt.
JPMorgan is one of the biggest overseas banks in the U.K., with 19,000 employees. Its European investment banking headquarters is in London and it has a substantial operation in Bournemouth. Last year it launched a digital bank in the U.K., Chase, and bought the British online wealth manager Nutmeg.
Dimon's call with Hunt is due to be scheduled for next week, according to people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified. The JPMorgan boss has long sought introductory calls and meetings with previous British chancellors, including Hunt's short-lived predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng. JPMorgan declined to comment.
Hunt has stirred concerns among banks by saying nothing "
Domestic and international banks based in the U.K. pay the surcharge on their profits. Large lenders also pay a levy on their balance sheets. Over the summer, there had been hopes that Liz Truss's government would cut the surcharge and the levy as part of their plan to boost the City of London. Truss resigned Thursday amid spiraling conflict within the ruling Conservative Party.
When the Treasury last looked at bank taxes in October 2021 it set a combined rate of 28%, made up of corporation tax and a reduced surcharge. That level would help ensure the sector remains "internationally competitive," the Treasury said at the time.
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