Through its network of local agents, the Bank of England organises regular round table discussions to make sure they have a well-rounded view of economic conditions and prospects across the UK. They help business people and the Bank’s economists understand each other. (More details can be found here - https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/agents).
In September a group of treasurers participated in another meeting with one of the Bank of England’s agents. Sadly, this time we couldn’t avail ourselves of the tea and cakes on offer and had to make do with our own as the meeting took place from the comfort of our own homes!
Dr Joe Ganley provided a short description of some of the many roles that the Bank performs and a summary of the economic forecast published in its Monetary Policy Report. Given the various individual views of the economy that are around, I enjoyed hearing what the Bank is thinking. Key highlights from this were:
Joining us this time we had representatives from the construction, real estate, household goods’ retailing and manufacturing. Each person shared how their business was coping with COVID-19 and also how they had taken advantage of the various government financing schemes available. It was interesting to hear first-hand how that some companies had deliberately decided not to apply given the restrictions they felt this would impose on them. We also heard views on negative interest rates, with the consensus being that this would probably not provide a boost to most companies.
The next meeting will be in 6 months-time and if you be interested in participating, please drop a note to technical@treasurers.org.
