The chief executive of London-listed Secure Trust Bank has urged the government to abolish stamp duty on shares in the upcoming Autumn Budget, arguing that the levy discourages retail investors from participating in the stock market.

Ian Corfield, who leads Secure Trust Bank and is a former Labour party donor, told City AM that one of the firm's "biggest challenges is trying to generate liquidity into the stock."

"The biggest handbrake on this business is people having to pay tax when they're buying a share," Corfield said when asked what measures he would like to see in the forthcoming Budget.

He described the 0.5 per cent charge on stock trading as a "blocker for retail investors" and said that encouraging greater retail participation would be "key" for UK wealth generation.

The UK is one of relatively few major financial centres that still levies a transaction tax on share purchases. The US, Germany, and several other large markets abolished similar duties in earlier decades, and the debate over scrapping stamp duty comes amid wider concern about the London Stock Exchange's ability to attract and retain listed companies.

Corfield spent five months as the Treasury's director of investment after Labour came to power in 2024, but stepped down amid accusations of cronyism linked to his history as a party donor.

Secure Trust is listed on London's main market with a valuation of approximately £300m. Its shares have risen roughly 19 per cent over five years to 1,617.60p.

Stamp duty holiday fails to gain traction

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced a three-year stamp duty holiday for new listings in her 2025 Budget. However, the measure has done little to attract some of the most promising listing candidates in the financial sector.

The chief executive of banking software firm Thought Machine previously told City AM that Reeves' changes were not "big enough to really change anybody's mind either for or against."

John Healey, who assumed the Chancellor role after Andy Burnham took office in Downing Street, now faces renewed pressure to take bolder steps to address the liquidity challenges confronting the London market.

Banking sector resists windfall tax calls

The banking industry is simultaneously pushing back against growing demands for a new tax on the sector, fueled by the robust first-half profits posted by major lenders.

Campaigners have proposed that a £19bn windfall tax could be extracted from Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays, and HSBC alone. Secure Trust does not currently pay the three per cent banking surcharge on corporation tax, which applies to profits exceeding £100m.

Corfield dismissed the prospect of higher bank taxes as "inappropriate."

"Ultimately interest rates go up and down, I suspect when we're in a different interest rate environment, we won't be talking about tax cuts for those banks," he added.

Secure Trust posts first-half profit growth

The remarks accompanied Secure Trust's announcement of a £31.3m profit for the first half of the year, representing a 9.4 per cent increase. That figure excludes an £11.9m gain from the sale of its unprofitable vehicle finance portfolio.

The bank has set aside £21m in provisions as part of the Financial Conduct Authority's redress scheme addressing 'secret' commission arrangements in the motor finance market. The FCA's review into historical discretionary commission arrangements has prompted provisions across multiple UK motor finance lenders, with the total industry cost still uncertain.

The group's loan book grew 4.9 per cent during the period to reach £3.5bn, driven by demand across its retail finance and business finance divisions. Its CET1 ratio — a key measure of financial strength — rose to 14.3 per cent from 12.9 per cent, releasing additional capital for the business.

Corfield indicated that the bank's strategic direction would remain unchanged. "You're not going to see me standing up saying we're making some leap into the unknown," he said, adding that the lender would "remain a simplified business focused on retail finance and business finance."

Secure Trust completed the first tranche of a £10m share buyback during the first half and raised its dividend by 5.1 per cent to 12.4p per share.