Britain’s biggest banks are set to report “robust” profits next week amid speculation that the industry could be hit with tax rises in the budget.
Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and NatWest are scheduled to post third-quarter results, which City analysts expect will show that earnings have remained resilient despite the recent fall in interest rates.
While pre-tax profits at Lloyds, which reports on Wednesday, are forecast to dip to about £1.6 billion, from £1.86 billion a year earlier when it was riding a boom of higher borrowing costs, analysts anticipate that earnings will be up at both Barclays and NatWest.
Barclays, which releases its figures on Thursday, is expected to say that profits increased to almost £2 billion, from just under £1.9 billion in 2023.