THE TUC has demanded higher taxes on banks after Britain’s biggest lenders were revealed to have pocketed nearly £1 billion a week in profits this year.

Analysts from non-profit Positive Money found that Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC made £24.1bn in just the first six months this year: that’s £0.93bn a week.

So as the banks prepare to post their latest quarterly profits this week, the TUC has called on the firms to pay their fair share through an increase in the bank surcharge.

The surcharge — a tax on bank profits — was cut under the Conservatives from 8 per cent to 3.

The trade union body has calculated that setting the surcharge back to 8 per cent would raise £8bn over four years; doubling it to 16 per cent would raise £20bn. A 35 per cent surcharge would be around the same level as the windfall tax that the Tories imposed on energy companies and could deliver £50bn.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “After the Tories slashed the bank surcharge, high interest rates have created a profits bonanza for banks.

“Banks have done very well out of the British people. It’s only right that they use their bumper profits to pay a bit more in tax to invest in our hospitals, schools and local councils.

“That’s why at the Budget, the government should be asking those with the broadest shoulders — like banks — to pay their fair share.”

Positive Money found that the four big banks made an eyewatering £45.9bn in profits in 2024, which they are expected to exceed this year.

Banks have benefited from increased interest rates in recent years, which has led to higher returns from net interest and interest paid to banks on reserves they hold at the Bank of England.

TUC polling has indicated significant support for a windfall tax on banks, with two in three people surveyed backing the measure. This rises to 83 per cent among Conservative-to-Labour switchers in the 2024 general election, and 73 per cent among Labour voters from the 2024 election now leaning to Reform, the TUC says.