Barclays and other leading British banks have launched a last-ditch lobbying effort with the British government to try and fend off proposals to ringfence their retail operations, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Sources said it was likely that the banks' top executives would seek talks with British Finance Minister George Osborne ahead of the September 12 publication of a report from a government-appointed commission that will propose tough new regulations and restructuring for the industry.
"We have a major report coming out that will have huge implications for the industry. Wouldn't you expect the Chancellor to be in touch with the industry?" said one banking industry source. Asked to comment on the situation, a spokesman for the Treasury replied: "The Chancellor meets with a range of banks and financial services leaders on an ongoing basis."
Barclays declined to comment. The Independent Commission on Banking's (ICB) findings on September 12 are set to back proposals made in an earlier interim report to ringfence banks' retail arms from riskier trading operations to protect taxpayers from future financial crises. However, Britain's "Big Four" banks - Barclays, HSBC and part-nationalised lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds - have consistently warned that excessively tough regulation could harm the UK economy.