Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has called an emergency summit with the chief executives of Britain's five largest retail banks — HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander — to address the economic fallout from the escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran. Soaring energy prices, triggered after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz shipping route and struck oil-producing neighbours in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks, have fuelled fears of rising inflation and higher mortgage costs, with the Bank of England warning that more than one million UK households could face increased home loan repayments. Talks are expected to focus on protecting vulnerable borrowers — particularly the 1.6 million customers whose fixed-rate mortgage deals expire before year-end — and lenders may also be asked to share early data on how consumers are responding to the deepening crisis.