Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading ahead of the Bank of England's next announcement on interest rates.

This afternoon the Bank of England will be announcing its decision on interest rates and is widely expected to keep rates at 0.5 per cent yet again.

However the central bank is coming under increasing pressure to raise rates in a bid to curb sharpening inflation.

By 10:05 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were down 1.79 per cent to 64.27 pence per share, RBS shares declined 1.87 per cent to 43.46 pence per share, Barclays shares dropped 2.18 per cent to 309.50 pence per share and HSBC shares fell 1.18 per cent to 714.50 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was down 0.76 per cent to 6,006.02.
Barclays HSBC FTSE Bank of England