New Bank bigwig backs negative rates

A LEFT-WING critic of austerity who has backed extreme economic policies will help set interest rates at the Bank of England.

Professor Silvana Tenreyro of the London School of Economics has been made one of eight members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which determines borrowing rates for the big banks.

These impact how much millions of homeowners spend on mortgages, and the meagre returns faced by savers.

The 43-year-old holds British, Argentinian and Italian citizenship, studied at Harvard and the National University of Tucuman in Argentina, and has been teaching at LSE since 2004. In 2014, Tenreyro was critical of Coalition efforts to bring spending under control.

And in remarks which are likely to set her up for a clash with governor Mark Carney, she was also supportive of negative interest rates in a 2015 questionnaire. Critics have dismissed going negative as ‘voodoo banking’ which could force savers to pay for keeping cash in a current account.

She has also hit out at Brexit, saying many voted Leave because of inequality.