Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King savages May’s Brexit deal December 4, 2018 The former governor of the Bank of England Lord Mervyn King has slammed Theresa May’s Brexit deal and implicitly criticised his successor Mark Carney. King called the withdrawal agreement "incompetence of a high order". “It simply beggars belief that a government could be hell-bent on a deal that hands over £39 billion, while giving the EU both [...]
Mark Carney: Bank scenario was not an ‘exam crisis’ December 4, 2018 Bank of England governor Mark Carney rebuffed his critics in front of an audience of MPs this morning after insisting that his recent doomsday scenario was not an “exam crisis”. The Threadneedle street boss said that criticism of the Bank’s decision to make a report on a worst-case scenario – which warned that the pound could fall [...]
London Stock Exchange eyes Experian boss as new chairman December 3, 2018 The chairman of credit reporting company Experian is tipped to become the next head of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Don Robert, who is a member of Court at the Bank of England, is the frontrunner to succeed the LSE’s outgoing chairman Donald Brydon, according to Sky News. Discussions between Robert and the LSE’s board [...]
UK banks can pat themselves on the back, but the system is still feeling the stress November 30, 2018 Breathe a sigh of relief: once again, all financial institutions have passed the Bank of England’s annual stress tests. But look beneath the surface, and suddenly the various allowances made this week start to undermine the good news. First, if the impact of the new accounting standard IFRS 9 that came into force in January was [...]
Editor’s Notes: Check back in with the forecasters in 2033 November 30, 2018 The Treasury’s Brexit scenarios, released this week, boiled down to a claim – made with pinpoint accuracy – that the Prime Minister’s deal will leave the UK economy 3.9 per cent smaller in 15 years, compared with staying in the EU. In other news, PwC estimates that artificial intelligence will increase UK GDP by 10.3 [...]
Big ambitions and grand challenges: How the industrial strategy fares one year on November 29, 2018 It’s now a year since the industrial strategy was launched. Encompassing a 255-page tome, it laid five foundations for productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, places and the business environment. It promised waves of sector deals between government and industry to de-risk investment and improve workers’ skills. Six such deals were announced in the first year, from automotive [...]
Critics accuse Bank of England of using its forecasts to play with politics November 28, 2018 The Bank of England sparked a row today after publishing analysis of its ‘worst case Brexit scenario’ just 13 days ahead of a crucial Parliamentary vote on Theresa May’s deal. The controversy was sparked when governor Mark Carney unveiled the Bank’s latest ‘stress test’ assessment of the UK’s ability to withstand dramatic economic shocks, including [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney tries, and fails, to prevent Brexit analysis frenzy November 28, 2018 House prices plummeting 31 per cent. Unemployment shooting up to 9.5 per cent. GDP collapsing by 4.3 per cent amid a sharp recession. These were the scenarios the Bank of England used to conduct its mandated “stress test” for some of the UK’s biggest financial companies back in 2016. Last year, the wonks at Threadneedle Street [...]
Major UK banks pass ‘worst case scenario’ no-deal Brexit stress tests November 28, 2018 All of the UK’s major banks passed a beefed-up stress test as the Bank of England heralded the resilience of the UK financial system, it was revealed today. The seven banks – Nationwide, Santander UK, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, Barclays, and RBS – had three and half times the capital ratio than before the global [...]
No-deal Brexit could result in eight per cent hit to UK economy, warns Bank of England November 28, 2018 A no-deal Brexit could cause the UK economy to fall eight per cent in a single year, the Bank of England warned today, leading to crashing house prices and surging unemployment. However, in a boost for the Prime Minister, the Bank said her withdrawal agreement and a close economic relationship with the EU could boost GDP by [...]