Dame Jane Fraser, the chief executive of Citigroup, has said she is “worried” about the UK’s tax rate on banks, which she put at about 48 per cent in London against 27 per cent in New York, warning that further rises could jeopardise investment.

Speaking on a visit to London, Fraser said the UK rate was higher than in New York, Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris. “Money votes with its feet,” she said.

Fraser, who runs the third-largest US bank, put Dublin’s rate at around 28 to 29 per cent.

“It makes it a tougher decision,” she said. “It’s already one of the most expensive centres in the world. Your clients have a lot of choices where things get booked. We have to make choices to where things get booked. If the taxes go up even higher, then that makes it an easier decision not to book it in London.”

Asked whether she was concerned about a new bank tax under Andy Burnham’s government, Fraser said: “Where I get concerned about it is London is such an important centre, a financial centre around the world. The world needs London to work well and to continue to prosper and innovate.

“There aren’t great alternatives. We need stronger alternatives to New York around the world because you need the diversification. But money votes with its feet.”

Fraser named France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan as alternative places for Citi to invest.

“The UK is important. It’s got talent, it’s got infrastructure, it’s got pretty sensible regulatory capabilities and the like,” she said. “But that difference, and I hate to be Scottish, it gets overcome pretty quickly. I am quite worried about it.

“I’m not sitting there going: ‘Okay, this is a catastrophe.’ But we care about the UK. This is a very important centre for Citi. I don’t want to see London diminished.”

Citi employs 14,000 people in the UK and is opening new offices at Canary Wharf in London. Fraser took over as chief executive in March 2021, and shares in the bank have almost doubled since.

Her comments follow a similar warning from Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan chief executive, who has criticised the bank levy and said the tax has cost his shareholders $5 billion. Dimon said in May that JP Morgan would “reconsider” its planned Canary Wharf skyscraper if the bank’s UK tax bill climbed “too much”. CS Venkatakrishnan, the Barclays chief executive, has also urged ministers to resist further bank tax rises.

Banks in the UK pay a surcharge on profits in addition to corporation tax, alongside a levy on balance sheets. UK Finance, the industry body, put the total tax rate for a model corporate and investment bank in London at 46.4 per cent in its 2025 study, against 27.9 per cent in New York, 28.9 per cent in Dublin and 38.9 per cent in Frankfurt.

Fraser also said the UK was seen as “baffling” in the US. “I think some of the political changes that have happened in the UK are strange to the States, as to why there’s been so much change and why that’s happened. Then I think they see the UK as a bit diminished from what it used to be. But there is a desire and want for the UK to succeed.”

Asked whether she thought the UK was diminished, Fraser said: “Not so much diminished, it’s a little different. I think that it’s not as important in the world as it used to be. Some of that’s probably been our own doing. But it’s also the world’s changed a lot. It’s a more muscular world, it’s a more scaled world. I think the UK has a chance to prosper a lot. But it’s got some work to do.”

Fraser, 59, was born in Scotland and studied economics at the University of Cambridge before taking an MBA at Harvard. She joined Citi in 2004 after a decade at the consultancy McKinsey and has lived in the US for almost 20 years.

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

In a regulatory filing on August 5, the Pune-headquartered technology firm announced that it entered into a multi-year supply agreement with a leading international telecom infrastructure company for high-density optical fiber cables. The client’s specific identity was not disclosed in the filing, as is common with such commercial disclosures.

Details of the order win

The long-term contract is valued at roughly Rs 1,760 crore ($210 million) and will be executed over a three-calendar-year period spanning CY27 to CY29. Sterlite Technologies confirmed in its stock exchange disclosure that neither its promoter group nor any related entities have any financial or strategic interest in the client awarding the contract.

The deal comes as a significant boost to the company’s global order book, strengthening its presence across key international markets. As telecom operators and hyperscalers worldwide accelerate network rollouts, demand for advanced high-density fibre connectivity solutions is accelerating. The company noted that supplies under this agreement will directly support large-scale digital infrastructure deployments overseas during the three-year execution window.

Market performance and valuation context

The latest surge in the stock price extends a remarkable turnaround for the company on the exchanges. Over the past year, Sterlite Tech has witnessed a multi-fold rally from its 52-week low of Rs 84.65, with Thursday’s gains pushing the scrip close to its 52-week peak of Rs 684.45.

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The rally has taken place even as the share remains under the Additional Surveillance Measure (ASM) Long Term Stage 4 framework on the exchanges. Exchange data also indicates that the company’s price-to-earnings (PE) ratio has stayed above 50 across the previous four trailing quarters, reflecting strong market expectations around its future earnings trajectory.

Expanding global digital footprint

Sterlite Technologies operates as an integrated optical and digital connectivity solutions developer, managing operations from glass preforms down to fiber deployment. The company runs manufacturing facilities across India, the United States, Italy, and China, serving telecom operators, internet service providers, and cloud data center networks in more than 100 countries.Industry analysts point out that large long-term contracts from international infrastructure developers are crucial for providing multi-year revenue visibility to optical fiber manufacturers. With global investments pouring into Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) expansion, 5G network densification, and AI-driven data center builds, major optical technology vendors like Sterlite Tech are positioned to capture growing demand across overseas telecom hubs.

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The company’s recent strategic focus has centred on high-capacity ribbon cables, ultra-slim optical fibres, and specialised interconnect tools tailored for rapid deployment. Management has consistently highlighted that long-term supply agreements with global leaders help de-risk capacity planning while ensuring sustained utilisation across its primary manufacturing assets.

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