Eurozone

Reuters Newsmaker - BoE's Gertjan Vlieghe: No-deal Brexit might mean zero rates

Posted

The Bank of England might need to cut interest rates almost all the way down to zero in the event of a no-deal Brexit and it is not clear how long it would take for them to rise again, senior BoE official Gertjan Vlieghe said. Speaking at Thomson Reuters in London, Vlieghe also said that in the event of a smooth Brexit transition, he could see the central bank raising rates to as much as 1.75% within three years. Vlieghe's comments went further than those of other BoE policymakers who have said rates would probably need to be cut after a no-deal Brexit shock to the economy, but have not been explicit about the size of such a move.