Barclays CEO Urges UK to Consider Investment Over Fresh Bank Tax

Barclays Plc’s Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan said a windfall tax on banks in the UK could hinder the government’s push to boost growth in the economy and urged the government to consider other measures.

With UK lenders employing about 10% of the population in the country, an additional tax would hurt a key sector in the economy, Venkatakrishnan told investors at a conference the London-based bank hosted in New York. He also argued UK lenders already pay a higher rate than their peers in the US and across Europe.

CEO of Barclays C.S. Venkatakrishnan

Photographer: Bess Adler/Bloomberg

“The route to growth is through investment, through ...