BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said in a webinar yesterday that the central isn’t ready for implementation of negative interest rate yet. “Given the shock we’ve had, there are good reasons to say we shouldn’t rule them out and therefore they’re in the toolbox,” he said. “We haven’t addressed the question of should we use them.”
Earlier, Governor Sam Woods has sent a letter banks asking for their readiness on negative interest. “We are requesting specific information about your firm’s current readiness to deal with a zero Bank Rate, a negative Bank Rate, or a tiered system of reserves remuneration – and the steps that you would need to take to prepare for the implementation of these,” Woods said in a letter. “We are also seeking to understand whether there may be potential for short-term solutions or workarounds, as well as permanent systems changes.”
