Bank of England to embark on largest reform since gaining independence following Bernanke review

‘Largest reform’ since 1997

The Bank of England has set out plans to upgrade its monetary policy making processes after former US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke published his independent review in April calling for changes to BoE's forecasting, decision-making and communications approach.

In a speech given by BoE's deputy governor for monetary policy Clare Lombardelli today (25 November), the Bank will undertake a reform targeting the "whole nose to tail process of monetary policy making and communication". Back in April, Bernanke published an 86-page report outlining a set of deficiencies in the Bank's forecasting infrastructure, which are the tools staff use to produce its quarterly forecast and support analyses, with the review also including 12 recommendations. The changes come in response to "a sequence of supply shocks" which have impacted the UK economy in recen...