Jeremy Hunt to hold summit with bank CEOs over dwindling valuations - reports
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (pictured) will meet with UK banks CEOs on 23 January. | Copyright: HM Treasury
According to a report by Sky News, executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest Group and Santander UK will attend, with the London Stock Exchange also expected to be present.
The summit be held next week on 23 January, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting will take place just before the banks are set report their annual results for last year, as earnings growth is forecast to have been affected by a series of headwinds.
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One executive told Sky News that the premise of the summit will be to discuss what steps the government could take to stimulate banks' confidence and boost lending into the UK economy.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak's chief business adviser and former Morgan Stanley executive Franck Petitgas is understood to be behind the summit as he argued that weakness in bank shares is holding back wider growth, something to be addressed to bolster lending to businesses and households.
According to data from the LSE, Barclays shares were down 22% last year, Lloyds was down 13%, while Natwest's stock dropped 30%. HSBC was the only bank ending the year marginally in the green, with its shares up 0.25%.
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