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Banking

Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £325 billion

Published by Gbaf News

Posted on April 10, 2012

3 min read

· Last updated: December 12, 2018

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totaling £325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.
The Committee expects the announced programme of asset purchases to take another month to complete. The scale of the programme will be kept under review.
The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 April 2012.

Notes to Editors
The previous change in Bank Rate was a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 0.5% on 5 March 2009. A programme of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves was initiated on 5 March 2009. The previous change in the size of that programme was an increase of £50 billion to a total of £325 billion on 9 February 2012.
Information on the Asset Purchase Facility can be found on the Bank of England website at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/qe/default.aspx.
The Bank will continue to offer to purchase high-quality private sector assets on behalf of the Treasury, financed by the issue of Treasury bills, in line with the arrangements announced on 29 January 2009 and 29 November 2011.
Source: www.bankofengland.co.uk

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totaling £325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.
The Committee expects the announced programme of asset purchases to take another month to complete. The scale of the programme will be kept under review.
The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 April 2012.

Notes to Editors
The previous change in Bank Rate was a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 0.5% on 5 March 2009. A programme of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves was initiated on 5 March 2009. The previous change in the size of that programme was an increase of £50 billion to a total of £325 billion on 9 February 2012.
Information on the Asset Purchase Facility can be found on the Bank of England website at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/qe/default.aspx.
The Bank will continue to offer to purchase high-quality private sector assets on behalf of the Treasury, financed by the issue of Treasury bills, in line with the arrangements announced on 29 January 2009 and 29 November 2011.
Source: www.bankofengland.co.uk

Key Takeaways

  • Bank Rate remains at historic low of 0.5% as of April 5, 2012.
  • Asset Purchase Programme maintained at £325 billion, financed via central bank reserves.
  • Programme expected to complete in about one month and stay under review.
  • Previous rate cut to 0.5% occurred March 5, 2009; QE raised to £325 billion on February 9, 2012.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Bank Rate last changed before April 2012?
The Bank Rate was last changed on March 5, 2009, when it was cut by 0.5 percentage points to 0.5 %.
When was the Asset Purchase Programme last adjusted?
The programme was last increased on February 9, 2012, with an addition of £50 billion to reach £325 billion.
How is the Asset Purchase Programme financed?
It is financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, through the Asset Purchase Facility.

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