Through its network of local agents, the Bank of England organises regular round table discussions to make sure they have a comprehensive view of economic conditions and prospects across the UK. The purpose of the round tables is to help business people and the Bank’s economists understand each other. To find out more about the agents visit bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/agents.
As you will have read in previous newsletters, the ACT has been asked by the Bank of England to bring together a group of Treasurers on a semi-annual basis as part of these sessions.
The inaugural meeting was held on 3 March at the offices of the Bank and we had 10 representatives of the treasury community covering a wide range of sectors and sizes. The economist asked a series of general questions about how business was performing and then asked some specific questions on topical events (such as Brexit and the Coronavirus). It was fascinating to see at first hand, how the Bank supplements its economic data with questions to business owners and a reminder of how treasurers have a good insight into how their business is performing. It was also interesting sharing different perspectives of the economy and learning how different businesses responded to macroeconomic events.
In addition to the meeting, we were also shown some of the highlights of the building itself including remains from Roman times and a plaque to a Kenneth Grahame, who spent his whole career working at the Bank, after joining the staff in 1879. He published his novel, The Wind in the Willows, in 1908, shortly after he retired as secretary of the Bank of England.
If you’re interested in joining the next roundtable, please drop a note to technical@treasurers.org.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Naresh Aggarwal (naggarwal@treasurers.org) or James Winterton (jwinterton@treasurers.org)
