United Kingdom
King attempts to mitigate pay freeze news
Bank of England staff receive memo notifying them of measures
Treasury Committee’s Tyrie calls for reform of BoE board
Treasury Select Committee chairman, Andrew Tyrie, calls for urgent reform of governance rules at the Bank of England; warns new regulatory powers must be closely monitored
UK FSA and Treasury say covered bondholders should escape bail-ins
British authorities offer six recommendations for regulatory change; signal covered bondholders will not be hit by bail-ins
Lawmakers say competition in UK retail banking “non-existent”
Report by parliamentarians says pre-conditions for effective competition in retail banking market "not present”; calls for test for proposed future divestments of government-held stakes in banks
Bank of England - Housing Equity Withdrawal (Q4 2010)
Bank of England Housing Equity Withdrawal data for Q4 2010 shows continued weakness in lending to households
House of Lords report slams bank audits
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee releases stinging report asking the UK government to consider significant reforms to the system of bank audits
Forecasting under uncertainty: Bank's Weale
Bank of England external Monetary Policy Committee member Martin Weale examines difficulty of forecasting during uncertainty
BoE's chief economist says global inflationary pressures prompted rate hike vote
Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale says risks associated with global price pressures and prolonged periods of inflation were behind call to raise interest rates
Bank’s Sentance warns of misjudging spare capacity
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee external member Andrew Sentance warns of difficulty in measuring spare capacity
BoE rate-setters split four ways once more
Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes shows three members continued to vote for rate hikes despite downward revision in fourth quarter of 2010 growth figures
Bank’s Cleland: £5 note replenishing scheme “on track”
Bank of England head of banknotes division Victoria Cleland says £5 note replenishing scheme was on schedule but may need to be stepped up
Bank’s Bailey stresses importance of forward-looking approach to regulation
Bank of England executive director of banking services, Andrew Bailey, says regulation should be more forward-looking
It is the supervision of the banks, not their structure, that is most important
A separation between retail and investment banking would in itself do nothing to correct bad management practices and would quite possibly fail in its aim to protect the public purse, Roger Alford argues.
Lawmakers grill BoE’s court over stability mandate
UK Treasury Committee query whether Bank of England’s Court of Directors is up to the task of monitoring the activities of the Financial Policy Committee
BoE governing body member 'uncomfortable' with King fiscal comments
Bank of England’s Court of Directors member and head of Trades Union Congress Brendan Barber says he is uncomfortable about comments made by governor Mervyn King on fiscal policy
Bank of England - Payment Systems Oversight Report (March 2011)
Bank of England’s March 2011 Payment Systems Oversight Report says further steps could be taken to reduce risks in UK payment systems
ECB paper on credit card users under binding constraints
European Central Bank shows credit card users are insensitive to interest rate rises on transactions
Consumer behaviour influences financial distress: ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows individuals’ behavioural traits may contribute to level of financial distress experienced by consumers
Bank’s Sentance lists reasons for rate hike
Bank of England external Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance stresses importance of gradual rise in interest rates
BoE forecasts at odds with public view: BIS paper
Bank for International Settlements study finds substantial disagreement among UK consumers and Bank of England over inflation forecasts
BoE - Agents' Summary of Business Conditions (February 2011)
The Bank of England’s February 2011 Agents' Summary of Business Conditions finds evidence of moderate pick-up in retail sales
Bank’s chief economist joins dissenters on rate hike
Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale votes for rate hike; analysts say outlook remains unclear given persisting weakness in data
Geithner slams UK for light-touch regulation
US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner says UK’s light-touch approach to regulation was a deeply costly strategy; says creating level playing field for banks will be crucial