BKLM151000 | Introduction: structure: who is chargeable to the bank levy?

Part 2 of Schedule 19

The bank levy is an annual charge on certain equity and liabilities (termed ‘chargeable equity and liabilities’) of banks, building societies, banking groups and building society groups. Chapter 2 of this guidance (see BKLM200000) sets out how those terms are defined for the purposes of the bank levy.

To be within the scope of the bank levy a stand alone bank or building society must be operating in the UK, while a group must contain at least one bank operating in the UK. These UK banking operations can either be:

• carried out through a UK resident entity, referred to in the legislation as a ‘UK resident bank’, or

• through a UK permanent establishment (a branch) of a foreign bank, referred to in the legislation as a ‘relevant foreign bank’.

Once it has been determined that there is a bank operating within the UK, the next step is to determine whether that bank is a member of a group and the nature of that group.

Part 3 of Schedule 19

Part 3 of Schedule 19 explains in more detail how to determine whether a group is a:

• ‘UK banking group’

• ‘building society group’

• ‘foreign banking group’ or

• ‘relevant non-banking group’.

See BKLM221000.

The type of group is important in determining how the calculations of chargeable equity and liabilities should be undertaken. Detailed guidance on how to do this can be found in Chapter 3 of this guidance - see BKLM300000.