Senior executives from several of Britain’s largest banks met Chancellor John Healey on Tuesday morning to lobby against higher bank taxes ahead of this month’s budget, sources said. Attendees from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Nationwide and Santander argued raising levies would undermine the government’s growth objectives and widen London’s competitiveness gap with centres such as New York. Healey told the banks the government faces a "difficult fiscal position" but gave no clear indication whether the budget will raise the sector’s tax burden. The meeting is likely their last with Healey before the budget.(金十)