BoE: Furlough means UK faces record labour market inactivity June 8, 2020 The UK is facing what appears to be a record level of inactivity in its labour market as huge numbers of people are on furlough or facing unemployment due to Covid-19, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned. “We’ve seen activity across the economy collapse, and we’ve seen a rapid rise in inactivity among [...]
Government and Bank of England urge banks to keep lending despite coronavirus uncertainty March 25, 2020 British banks must continue to provide loans during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure that previously viable companies do not fail due to the crisis, the government and Bank of England said. In a joint letter to the chief executives of major banks, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and the interim chief [...]
Bank of England will ‘closely’ monitor credit to economy amid coronavirus crisis March 24, 2020 The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said it will “monitor closely” the credit conditions facing the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, and stands ready to take further actions if needed. In minutes from recent meetings released this morning, the Committee said it “stands ready to take any further actions deemed appropriate to support [...]
Coronavirus and policymaking: Mario Draghi didn’t just say ‘whatever it takes’ March 24, 2020 These are unprecedented times. Our lives as we know them have been upended: the comforts of routine squarely thrown out of the window and replaced with a combination of anxiety and dread. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 is a black swan that no one saw coming (though we should have been better equipped) and has [...]
Government launches £330bn coronavirus business loan scheme March 23, 2020 The government has launched the first stage of a £330bn loan guarantee scheme for businesses, to help small and medium-sized firms borrow up to £5m to help them weather the impact of coronavirus. “Any viable business” with a turnover of up to £45m will be able to apply to banks for an 12-month interest-free loan, [...]
Bank of England cancels stress tests over coronavirus March 20, 2020 The Bank of England has cancelled this year’s stress test of major banks in Britain, saying it could be hard to implement new global capital rules while lenders are focused on supporting customer lending amid the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank’s decision to scrap the test of the UK’s eight top banks comes after the [...]
Keith Wade: Is the world now heading for recession? March 13, 2020 | City Talk As I returned to the UK last weekend, my taxi driver talked of panic-buying and impending food shortages. Having wondered if I had stepped off at the wrong airport, it subsequently became clear that his thinking was very close to that of the markets. On Monday (9 March), equities sold off and credit spreads widened [...]
Goldman Sachs and UBS expect Bank of England rate cut March 5, 2020 Investment banking giants Goldman Sachs and UBS are both predicting that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Goldman analysts expect the BoE will slash rates by 50 basis points (0.5 per cent) at its meeting next month, saying that the epidemic is likely to push the UK [...]
Bank of England expects to internal report on audio feed misuse in April March 3, 2020 The Bank of England expects an internal report into misuse of its audio feeds to go the bank’s directors in April, after it emerged that hedge funds were able to access a market-sensitive feed ahead of its official broadcast. Outgoing governor Mark Carney told the Treasury committee today that he expected the BoE’s court — [...]
Deutsche Bank under pressure from UK regulator over compliance failings March 2, 2020 The British financial regulator has criticised Deutsche Bank for failing to improve its compliance and anti-money laundering controls, and warned this could threaten the lender’s access to the UK post-Brexit. Bank of England regulators have told the German lender they now require monthly updates, as opposed to typical quarterly meetings, according to the Financial Times. [...]