The controversy centers on a media report released nearly two hours before the official budget statement, which outlined a smaller, temporary increase to the bank corporation tax surcharge. John Healey later confirmed the rate would rise from 3% to 6% for 15 months beginning in January 2027 to fund household support measures. Regulators are now reviewing the timing and dissemination of the information to establish if inside information rules were violated. Healey is scheduled to face formal questioning on the matter before lawmakers next month.
Key points
Regulators are assessing whether early reporting on the banking surcharge breached UK Mar…: Regulators are assessing whether early reporting on the banking surcharge breached UK Market Abuse Regulation rules.
Treasury officials have been asked to verify that banking representatives were not given…: Treasury officials have been asked to verify that banking representatives were not given advance notice of the tax changes.
John Healey will be questioned by the Commons Treasury select committee regarding the dis…: John Healey will be questioned by the Commons Treasury select committee regarding the disclosure during an appearance next month.
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John Healey is facing pressure to clarify whether he permitted a market-sensitive budget leak ahead of his statement, which moved bank share prices.
The chair of the influential Commons Treasury select committe, Meg Hillier, has written to the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority watchdog (FCA) to assess whether a story leaked to Bloomberg, and published more than an hour before the budget was revealed, led to an “improper release of inside information”.
Shortly before Healey left Downing Street to deliver his budget statement in the Commons at 12.30pm, the prices of shares in banks moved as Bloomberg had published a story at 10.45am noting the bank corporation tax surcharge would be lower than the 8% that lenders had feared, and the increase would only be temporary.
In a letter to James Bowler, the permanent secretary of the Treasury, and the chief executive of the FCA, Hillier wrote: “There were two elements to the Bloomberg story, namely that the bank surcharge would not reach 8% and that it would be temporary.
“HM Treasury’s Budget 2026 confirmed the following: ‘Bank Surcharge:…
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