deVere Group CEO Nigel Green has criticised the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) “wait-and-see” approach to interest rates, labelling it “flawed and dangerous”.
Green believes that for the economy to grow, there needs to be certainty for business investment, something that the BoE is failing to provide.
He argues that the central bank is unintentionally pushing the UK’s consumer-led economy into a deeper recession by continuing to increase borrowing costs, leading to a reduction in spending and investment.
Additionally, he points out that monetary policy is notoriously slow to take effect, and that recent interest rate hikes will have a marked impact on employment growth and demand over the coming months.
The damning assessment from deVere Group’s Green follows the Bank Governor, Andrew Bailey, signalling that interest rates may have peaked but could rise again.
Speaking in London on Wednesday, Bailey said the central bank would analyse the impact of tighter policy on the economy before agreeing to new hikes.
He said: “At this stage, I would caution against suggesting either that we are done with increasing Bank rate, or that we will inevitably need to do more.
“Some further increase in Bank rate may turn out to be appropriate but nothing is decided.”
