Bank influence ‘draining away’

THE Bank of England’s influence is fading because of its overcomplicated communication and obsession with Brexit, an analyst says.

In a scathing attack, Berenberg economist Kallum Pickering said governor Mark Carney is losing control, leaving the UK at risk of a surprise rise in interest rates.

Pickering said that the Bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee had tried to warn of coming hikes in a report last month.

But because Carney has repeatedly U-turned on rates, the message went unheeded, he said. This has seen the Governor branded the ‘unreliable boyfriend’.

Pickering said: ‘The approach to monetary policy, which has further strayed since the UK voted to leave the EU, is damaging its credibility. By emphasising the potential consequences of a no-deal hard Brexit, it has overreached and invited mostly undue criticism about its role in Brexit before and after the referendum.’