BoE to close personal banking service for staff

Bank of England employees will lose a 300-year-old job perk after it was announced that a small staff bank within Threadneedle Street is closing.

Staff had been able to access Bank of England accounts for personal use, even after retirement. But the Bank has confirmed that the service is coming to an end following a cost-cutting review initiated by its governor, Mark Carney, soon after he arrived in 2013.

The Bank's internal bank concluded that it could not compete with the range of services, including online banking, offered by high street institutions, and said all staff accounts would be closed by next year on grounds of costs and practicality.

Until recently, account holders had received Bank debit cards and chequebooks, distinguished by the sort code 1000-00, underlining its position as the grandest branch in Britain. The bank has two dedicated cash machines inside the Bank's building.

The days of personal banking at Threadneedle Street had been numbered since the launch of an efficiency review, which resulted in the loss of 100 support jobs. No new accounts were allowed to be opened during the consultation.

A Bank spokesperson said: "After a full consultation process, the Bank confirmed to customers in November 2015 that it would close its personal banking service. This followed the Bank's withdrawal from providing retail banking services to government departments and other corporate customers. Many customers have now moved to other banks and we expect the exercise to complete during 2017."Long-term customers were reportedly writing as many cheques to friends as possible in order to generate souvenirs of the threatened bank within the Bank.

Meanwhile, Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale said on Monday he was unsure whether he would back an interest rate cut at next month's BoE meeting, in contrast to most of his colleagues who think stimulus is likely after Britain voted to leave the EU.

Weale - who will step down after the August meeting - did not see panic among consumers or businesses after the June 23 Brexit vote and said the central bank should not be afraid of disappointing markets. "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is not a nurse to markets. People who trade in markets know that the Monetary Policy Committee sets policy month by month in the way that its members think appropriate," Weale said.

"A second argument to which I give little weight is the argument that early action is needed to reassure people. In contrast to the experience of 2008, I do not have any sense that either consumers or businesses are panic-struck," he added in a speech at the Resolution Foundation think tank. Sterling gained against the dollar after Weale's comments, as it did on Thursday after the BoE held interest rates at 0.5 percent on Thursday, contrary to widespread expectations of a first cut in more than seven years.

Governor Mark Carney said two weeks ago that he expected the BoE to give the economy more help over the summer, but only one policymaker, Gertjan Vlieghe, backed a rate cut this month. But minutes of July's decision showed most MPC members expected to approve a package of measures to boost the economy in August, and BoE chief economist Andy Haldane said he would not be afraid to use "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".