MNI BRIEF: Lords Report: BOE Needs Transparency On QE and QT

There is a widespread perception that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee undertook quantitative easing following the Covid shock to support deficit financing and it needs to be transparent about what its goals were on QE and about its strategy for unwinding it, a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee (LEAC) report published Friday stated.

The report highlights the risk that the BOE will find itself in the political firing line if and when it looks to tighten policy. LEAC asked the Treasury to publish the key legal document setting out how the BOE will be indemnified if and when it runs up losses on its asset purchases, and the Committee said that it was "extraordinary" that its request for publication was turned down without explanation, fuelling concerns arising from perceptions of secrecy surrounding the whole UK QE operation. The Bank in a brief response said that it had aimed to lower borrowing costs across the economy and that it was "wrong to suggest" that it has pursued a policy to finance the Government's borrowing during the crisis.