UK central bank warns markets of change

Bold move: Bailey delivers a lecture at the London School of Economics. The BoE governor wants to make the transition to free the central bank from interest rate risk that has placed it under intense political scrutiny. — Bloomberg

LONDON: Bank of England (BoE) governor Andrew Bailey says markets should prepare for a big increase in securities repurchase operations as the UK central bank reduces the reserves it built up during the financial crisis and pandemic.

Signalling a radical shift in the way the BoE has worked with markets over the last 15 years, Bailey said he wants to replace the asset purchases done through quantitative easing (QE) with short-term loans (repos).