Support shown for take on banking jobs in London

The majority of financial services practitioners have voiced their support of the government imposing a levy on banks, it has been revealed.

In news that could be of interest to those with banking jobs in London, the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment has revealed that seven out of ten such professionals are in favour of the duty.

While 28 per cent strongly supported the levy, a further 42 per cent also backed it, while 15 per cent admitted they were strongly against it and a further 15 per cent, on balance, opposed it.

Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has said that it is "fair and right" that banks should be charged in this way following the financial crisis, as the downturn began with such institutions.

Meanwhile, a survey respondent said: "There is a strong argument for increasing the levy, regardless of whether a bank received government funding, as they all indirectly benefited from the billions of pounds poured into the system."

Elsewhere, British Bankers Association chairman Stephen Green recently wrote to Chancellor Osborne, informing him that chief executives of the UK''s high street banks are set to collaborate on "work streams" with the aim of tackling impediments to lending.