Bank of England (BoE)
BoE quarterly bulletin presents latest research
Quarterly bulletin gives overview of economic developments and contains papers on stress-tests, factors behind low sovereign bond yields and uncertainty in inflation forecasts among other topics
BoE releases banknotes bearing Chris Salmon’s signature
Signature of the current chief cashier of the Bank of England to appear on new banknotes; production method for notes altered
UK MPC member discusses QE exit strategy
David Miles says BoE will increase interest rates before selling government bonds; strategy will provide margin for error when monetary policy is tightened
New UK MPC member coy over policy stance
Ian McCafferty maintains a neutral perspective ahead of his first MPC vote; says it is difficult to be precise about effects of QE
BoE’s Dale says further easing carries ‘potential risks’
Spencer Dale recognises role monetary policy steps have played in stabilising UK economy, but warns further quantitative easing could come with drawbacks
Central banks launch joint investigation into Libor scandal
Economic Consultative Committee announces examination of reference rates used in financial markets; market will be consulted
BoE keeps monetary policy steady
Bank of England holds interest rate and leaves QE programme at previous level; asset purchases expected to be complete in two months’ time
Tributes to the governor that never was (Andrew Crockett, 1943-2012)
Bank of England, BIS and IMF heads pay respects to policymaker Andrew Crockett, who died this week. Crockett described as the governor ‘that never was’ and the ‘midwife’ to the HKMA
BoE executive director slates complex regulation
Andrew Haldane criticises the length of legislation recently introduced in the US and Europe; appeals for a simpler approach to financial regulation
Japan’s Nishimura says UK Funding for Lending scheme needs time to work
Kiyohiko Nishimura discusses unorthodox policies central banks have been turning to; believes the BoE’s Funding for Lending scheme will take a long time to have “concrete benefits”
Former MPC member blasts “unduly powerful” future BoE governor
Ex-MPC member Kate Barker says new macro-prudential policy-maker should not be independent of government; shake-up of banking regulation system in the UK will leave governor too powerful
BoE weighs distributional effects of QE
Paper assesses impact of quantitative easing on overall economy and examines distributional effects; finds main benefits for holders of assets and well-funded pension schemes
BoE paper studies public banking interventions
A Bank of England study finds that when it comes to public intervention in banking, size matters; indicates that interventions made during the current crisis were successful
BoE counters concerns raised in Fixing Libor report
The Bank of England says new laws and processes will give the central bank greater regulatory powers in the future to deal with episodes similar to Libor
BoE minutes show MPC left out rate cut discussion
Possibility of cutting benchmark interest rate was not discussed at latest MPC meeting; policy-makers decided to keep rate and quantitative easing steady
UK inflation figures show surprise rise in July
Office for National Statistics surprises markets by announcing CPI inflation rose to 2.6% in July; Bank of England last week predicted the rate would continue to fall this year
King says black clouds remain over UK economy
Governor of the Bank of England reveals lower growth prediction for UK; inflation also expected to fall but King denies country faces a lost decade
BoE’s Tucker says bail-ins part of too-big-to-fail solution
Paul Tucker says bail-ins are an ‘important topic’ for policy-makers trying to address the issue of ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks; hints others are considering similar options
Cleveland Fed researchers find fault with BoE’s Funding for Lending
‘Economic Trends’ research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland identifies possible flaws in the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme; warns of risk to independence
UK Funding for Lending Scheme opens
Bank of England and UK Treasury’s Funding for Lending Scheme window opens to UK banks and building societies; institutions have 18 months to borrow cheaply under the arrangement
BoE statistics indicate slight improvements in UK lending
Lending statistics show decline in lending to UK businesses lessens slightly while loans to individuals increase; overall M4 lending shows slight increase
Bank of Canada paper finds major benefits of QE in UK and US
Researchers study impact of asset purchases by Federal Reserve and Bank of England; identify ‘powerful effect’ on output and inflation
BoE paper models risk of financial shock amplification
Working paper develops model of financial system linkages to illustrate shock transmission; finds spread of defaults is amplified by fire sales and curtailed lending
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: The next governor of the Bank
British bank scandals have dramatically reduced the likelihood of a commercial banker taking over from Mervyn King as governor of the Bank of England. But there are still plenty of other candidates