Ex-BoE deputy governor calls for lower interest rate on QE programme - reports

Charlie Bean

Former Bank of England deputy governor for monetary policy Charlie Bean has called on the central bank to reform its quantitative easing programme, to lessen the cost burden on taxpayers during the unwinding process.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Bean said the QE programme has already cost UK taxpayers £38bn over the last 16 months, and is expected to be as high as £200bn, as it is unwound over the next decade. He argued for the creation of a new, lower interest rate to be paid on a portion of the £895bn of commercial bank deposits created under QE, similar to the European Central Bank's tiering of payments on reserves. 'Untested' quantitative tightening was 'leap in the dark' for Bank of England Bean, who served as deputy governor between 2008 and 2016, said BoE members have "inflicted subst...