LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Britain is prepared to review atax on banks to head off the threat that large multinationalbanks like HSBC could leave London's financial centreand shift their operations overseas, the Sunday Times reported,citing industry sources.
Finance minister George Osborne is to lay the ground forsuch a review in a speech this week, by saying that thenewly-elected Conservative government is committed tomaintaining the competitiveness of banks, the paper reported.
Both HSBC and Standard Chartered are looking at theviability of quitting London for Asia.
The Sunday Times report cited sources, including one ofHSBC's top five shareholders, as saying that a review of the taxcould stall any move by the bank to leave London.
HSBC declined to comment on the report.
A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment directly onthe report but said: "We are committed to maintaining ourposition as a global financial hub.
"As set out at the budget, it is right that, as it becomesmore profitable, our banking sector makes a fair contribution tofixing the public finances," the spokesman said.
A report in the Financial Times on Saturday said thatOsborne would use his speech to say that financial regulationhad now reached a sensible point.
In a March budget update, Osborne raised the bank tax forthe eighth time since its introduction in 2011, increasing therate to 0.21 percent of a bank's assets from 0.16 percent.
The British Bankers' Association has previously cited thetax as one of the factors making several banks rethink theiroperations.
Speaking in early May, HSBC warned that Britain'sbank tax was preventing it from raising dividend payouts andthat was a key concern of investors as the bank makes anassessment of whether to move to Hong Kong from London. (Reporting by William James and William Schomberg. Editing byJane Merriman)