Bank of England prepares £200bn economic stimulus

Details in the Bank’s Financial Stability Report (FSR), released last week, showed that the decision to let banks tap reserves of cash and liquid assets could provide as much as £150bn for new lending – a sum equivalent to the entire stock of loans to UK small and medium-sized businesses.

Rate-setters on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee are also expected this week to unveil a further £50bn of quantitative easing (QE). Last month, the Governor Sir Mervyn King voted to increase the £325bn of completed QE by £50bn. He was narrowly outvoted, with the committee split 5-4 in favour of leaving policy unchanged...Telegraph