Lenders save £200 million as UK bank levy shrinks

Cuts to the UK's bank levy helped boost profits at the five largest UK banks by over £200 million in 2017.

The aggregate amount raised by the levy across the country’s five largest banks in 2017 fell £206 million ($274 million) compared with the year prior, from £1.9 billion to £1.7 billion. Last year’s levy raised a smaller amount across the five than in 2014. Expressed as a percentage of aggregate profits before tax, the levy was equivalent to 6% in 2017, compared with 20% in 2016. 

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