Andrew Bailey: The central bank balance sheet as a policy tool - past, present and future

Speech by Mr Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, at "Navigating the Decade Ahead: Implications for Monetary Policy", an economic policy symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 28 August 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

It's a great pleasure to be participating in the virtual Jackson Hole conference. Well done to the Kansas City Fed for keeping up the tradition - albeit we have to imagine the beauty of Jackson Hole is around us.

A tradition of the Jackson Hole conference is to encourage us to look forwards. This time is not only an opportunity to do just that, but in doing so to apply the lessons of the last few months, as well as the last decade or so since the financial crisis of 2007-09. I am going to do that through the lens mainly of monetary policy, but bringing in financial stability where relevant, with a particular focus on central bank balance sheets. My remarks are a summary of a paper being released today.1 It isn't a review of the record of monetary policy or the framework of policy, but it does cover a good deal of recent evidence and experience. The paper, and my remarks today, focus on the UK case, drawing on lessons from international experience.