Seven big investment banks paid just £21m in UK corporation tax in 2014

SEVEN of the biggest investment banks operating in the UK paid little or no tax last year, despite reporting billions of dollars in profits, a Reuters analysis of corporate filings has shown.

Five of the banks – JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank AG, Nomura Holding and Morgan Stanley – said their main UK arms paid no corporation tax, the news agency reported.

In recent months, the seven investment and corporate banks operating in London reported figures showing they paid a combined $31m (£21m) in corporation tax in 2014. Between them the banks generated revenues of $31bn in the UK, profits of $5.3bn and employed 33,000 staff.

The filings show that the seven banks, which also include Goldman Sachs and UBS AG, used tax breaks and tax losses generated during the banking crisis to reduce their tax bills.

At least some of the banks paid no tax because they reported losses in London, while reporting profits in much smaller affiliates in lower tax jurisdictions.

The banks have so far declined to comment, but their tax returns say they complied with UK tax rules.