Bank of England 'shows how it's done' in times of Budget crisis

Intra-emergency rate cut of 50bps

Wednesday 11 March 2020 will probably be remembered as a shining moment for the Bank of England, a day when the institution demonstrated how monetary policy should be done in a time of crisis.

In fact, alongside the UK Government, it has jointly demonstrated how macroeconomic policy - i.e. monetary and fiscal policy co-ordination, should be done in a time of crisis. Admittedly, there was a fortuitous element present in that a budgetary announcement had been already scheduled for today so the stage had been set and ready for timeliness and coordination. Nevertheless, the manner in which this coordination has taken place, with full partnership, shared purpose, and re-enforced effectiveness, stands in contrast situations elsewhere, where either fiscal and monetary authorities ...