BoE must keep ‘own house in order’ or risk credibility

The Bank of England must modernise its “out of date” way of working, slash costs and overhaul its compliance or risk damaging its credibility, a Commons report has warned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said while the Bank has acknowledged it needs to improve its operations, it “lacks a clear vision” of the changes needed to drive the widespread overhaul needed.

In a critical report, the committee of MPs said working methods “appeared years out of date” and hit out at its failure to follow its own procedures, a lack of diversity in the workforce, an unnecessarily large property portfolio and “needlessly complex and costly” processes.

It called on the Bank to “practice what it preaches” and demanded it provide a coherent vision of how it will overhaul its operations by June.

It comes after a probe by the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed in December that the Bank made £10 million of purchases without following proper procedures and has 800 desks sitting empty at its Threadneedle Street offices.