Bank of England bosses criticised for £390,000 expenses bill
The expenses bills run up by two of the Bank of England's top officials were today described as "staggering" by an MP.
The Bank employs multiple members of its financial policy committee (FPC), which seeks to protect financial stability, who live in America. The central banking bigwigs have run up big expenses bills.
Simon Clarke, an MP on the influential Treasury Select Committee, said the £390,000 bill racked up by two US FPC members was a "simply staggering sum" during questioning of the new chair of the Bank of England's court of directors, Bradley Fried, according to Reuters.
"One of the most important aspects of the culture of any public institution is that it provides value for money to the taxpayer," Clarke said.
The Bank of England is wholly owned by the government, although it is independent when it comes to monetary policy.
Donald Kohn, an FPC member who lives in Washington, has run up a travel bill of more than £274,000 since joining in December 2015, at an average cost of more than £8,000 per trip.
Between December 2017 and February 2018 Kohn spent almost £470 on taxis in Washington and London, when travelling to London for a single meeting, according to expenses detailed on the Bank of England's website.
Kohn, who will serve on the FPC until 2021, is a former member of the board of governors of the US Federal Reserve, having served in top positions in monetary policy and financial stability divisions.
Meanwhile, one trip from Chicago to London for FPC member Anil Kashyap cost the Bank more than £11,000.
Kashyap, whose term ends in September next year, is an economist from Chicago Booth university who holds roles at the International Monetary Fund and the US Monetary Policy Forum.