Higher interest rates are estimated to propel annual profits at Britain's four biggest high street banks to a combined £47billion, reports The Times.

The bumper profits will be driven by HSBC, which City analysts expect to report a near-doubling of pre-tax profits last year to about £27 billion.

It is a record figure for the bank, which has a large UK business and sprawling operations in Asia.

Lloyds Banking Group, which has a headquarters in Barnwood in Gloucester is expected to report an increase in profit to £7.4billion.

It is one of the two big primarily UK-focused lenders, alongside Natwest, which will reportedly have profits of £6billion.

While earnings at Barclays are expected to be knocked lower by an estimated £825million of costs to account for a painful restructuring of the group, it is still forecast to report pre-tax profits last year of £6.7billion.

Commercial lenders have been raking in the cash due to rising interest rates since late 2021, allowing them to expand their margins.

But last year is likely to have been a peak for profits at Britain's banks as results from the third-quarter last year indicate the boom is slowing.