UK Bank Shares Rise as Fears Ease of Budget Tax Raid on Sector

Shares of UK lenders rose as worries eased that Rachel Reeves was planning to hike taxes on the UK’s biggest banks as part of Wednesday’s budget.

Barclays Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and NatWest Group Plc all gained by around 3% in early trading Tuesday after the Financial Times said the sector would be spared from a tax raid. The Treasury has asked banks to publicly endorse the budget and talk up the economy, the paper said, citing unidentified people involved in the discussions.

Bank bosses have spent months arguing that imposing a further tax on the industry would ...