United Kingdom
King acknowledges risk of wage-price spiral as inflation climbs to double Bank’s target
Inflation of 4% in January prompts Bank of England governor Mervyn King to pen another letter to the chancellor; letter acknowledges mounting inflationary pressures
Britain gets banks to agree on £10 billion boost to SMEs
UK’s chancellor George Osborne strikes deal with Britain’s largest banks to lend £10 billion more in funds to SMEs; Bank of England to report on banks’ contribution in next Trends in Lending report
IMF studies G-7 factors in global business cycles
IMF study examines impact of G-7 indicators in driving global business cycles
UK Treasury Committee calls on FSA to disclose details of banks’ pay
UK’s Treasury Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie asks FSA chief to disclose remuneration of 'high-end' employees; says disclosure in aggregated form will protect competitiveness of financial firms
Bank of England - Asset Purchase Facility Report (Fourth Quarter 2010)
Bank of England Fourth Quarter 2010 Asset Purchase Facility Report shows Bank made first purchase in secured commercial paper
Bank’s Weale joins Sentance in vote for rate hike
Bank of England’s external MPC member Martin Weale joins Andrew Sentance in vote for 25-basis point rate hike; decision marks growing divisions in rate-setting committee
Bank of England - Agents’ summary of business conditions (January 2011)
Bank of England’s January 2011 Agents’ summary of business conditions says severe weather conditions in December had negative impact on household spending
Banking Commission chief makes case for ring-fencing retail operations
Independent Commission on Banking chief John Vickers rules out “radical narrow banking” but says some separation between investment and retail banks could help
Bank of England – Trends in Lending (January 2011)
Bank of England’s January 2011 Trends in Lending survey show lending to business in the UK over the three months to November declined by £5 billion
Barclays’ Diamond argues case for universal banking
Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond adamant bank’s model funds cheaper lending and is less risky
BoE: Agents’ summary of business conditions (December 2010)
Bank survey shows strong export growth, rise in manufacturing and services activity; weak housing market, tough credit conditions for small firms
Britain raises bank levy
UK government publishes final bank tax law that will raise the levy on liabilities higher than initial proposals set out in June
BoE’s Dale identifies persistent headwinds in UK
Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale spots headwinds that continue to restrict growth in the United Kingdom
Forrest Capie’s Bank anecdotes
William M. Clarke and Robert Pringle select some amusing excerpts from a new history of the Bank of England.
British bankers lobby Banking Commission
British Bankers’ Association chief executive Angela Knight warns against breaking up the banks; argues Basel III does not need to be buffered by national measures
BoE survey shows heightened risk aversion in lending
Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions shows impaired balance sheets caused lenders to remain risk-averse
Bank’s MPC split three ways
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee minutes show rate-setters remain divided over future outlook of economy
King’s letter to chancellor highlights inflation uncertainty
Inflation of 3.2% in October prompts Bank of England governor Mervyn King to pen another letter to the chancellor; move highlights high degree of uncertainty
A vision is needed of how the UK economy can be rebalanced
It is far from clear how Britain can rebalance its economy, writes Claire Jones
UK FSA director of financial stability quits
Financial Services Authority's David Strachan will leave role in first quarter of next year; departure adds to growing list of senior figures leaving regulator
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund makes first property investment
Government Pension Fund Global takes stake in British Crown Estate’s Regent Street portfolio as part of new strategy to better hedge against inflation
Bank’s Tucker: all EU countries should have resolution regime
Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker calls for national resolution regimes
Bank on payment splitting
Bank of England study shows quantity of liquidity necessary to settle payment depends on threshold for payment splitting