Mohamed A. El-Erian , Columnist

Five Key Ways the Bank of England Outperformed Its Peers

It’s not perfect, but the central bank has been better than others in terms of honesty, humility, and willingness to learn from its mistakes.

June 24, 2024 at 4:00 AM UTC

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief executive officer of Pimco, he is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. He is author of “The Only Game in Town.”

The Bank o England is doing it right.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

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While the Sunak government has not hesitated in claiming credit for the return of the UK inflation rate to 2% after three years of exceeding that target, the Bank of England has proven notably reserved despite the country now having fewer price pressures than France, Germany and the US. Part of this modesty reflects concern that the rate of inflation may go back up by the end of the year.

But there is also a cultural aspect at play. The Bank tends to be humble in highlighting its accomplishments, despite these being at the forefront of central bank practice and despite some already having been replicated by other central banks. Sounds strange? It shouldn’t. Here are five ways in which the Bank has outperformed many others in recent years: