Economics

BOE Should Buy U.K. Debt Directly From Government, Former Official Says

  • Suggestion made by former deputy governor Charles Bean in blog
  • Bean says no need to worry about inflationary consequences
A commuter scoots past the Bank of England in the City of London on March 24.Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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The Bank of England should take the step, unprecedented in the modern era, of buying bonds directly from the government, according to a former deputy governor of the central bank.

Charles Bean, now a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said the private sector may struggle to take up all the additional debt sales needed to protect the economy from the coronavirus shock.