European banks post 25b euros of profit in tax havens: report

London

EUROPE'S largest banks routed 25 billion euros (S$38 billion) through tax havens in 2015, about a quarter of their profit, amid an international crackdown on corporate tax avoidance, according to a report by Oxfam International.

The 20 biggest lenders paid no tax on 383 million euros of profit posted in seven tax havens that year, while booking 4.9 billion euros of earnings in Luxembourg, more than the UK, Sweden and Germany combined, Oxfam and the Fair Finance Guide International said Monday.