The Bank of England should think about following the Fed and ending QE early, senior rate-setter says

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July 13, 2017 9:21 AM

Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Ian McCafferty said in an interview that the central bank should start unwinding QE ahead of schedule.

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LONDON — Ian McCafferty, one of the more hawkish members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, believes that the bank should start thinking about ending its quantitative easing programme ahead of schedule, following in the footsteps of the United States' Federal Reserve.

The basic idea would be that the Bank of England would stop reinvesting the principal of securities when they mature.

Put another way, when a 10-year Gilt (British government bond) on the BoE's books comes due, the money it gets back from that investment will not be used to go out and buy another Gilt.

During the interview, McCafferty also reiterated his backing for a hike in the bank's base rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, saying: "

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