TUC finds bank bonuses hit £25 billion: Positive Money response

14 July 2026 - Positive Money reacts to the TUC's new analysis, which finds that banks paid out £25 billion in bonuses in the financial year ending in Q1 of 2026. Bank bonuses have never been higher in cash terms and have seen their highest real terms quarter since the 2008 financial crisis.

Sara Hall, Co-Executive Director at Positive Money, said: 

“Record bonuses to celebrate record profits - the cost of living crisis must be something of a fantasy to City bankers.

“Banks aren’t redirecting the windfall profits they’ve made from higher interest rates towards the households or businesses struggling to pay them, so it falls to the Government to do so in their stead.

“Andy Burnham is being handed a rare opportunity to rebalance the scales in the public’s favour - he should seize the chance to implement this popular policy that won’t cost the Government a penny, but might just earn it some desperately-needed trust.”

ENDS