Cost Cutting at the Bank of England

Mark Carney brings in consultants to look at cutting costs at Bank of England

Mark Carney has called in a team of consultants and accountants to review the strategy of the Bank of England and look at cost-cutting measures at the 319-year-old institution.





The Bank of England, London

Deloitte has been recruited to conduct a 'value for money' study of the Bank's basic functions in its 'central services' support division Photo: Alamy







Philiip Aldrick
By Philip Aldrick

9:33PM BST 22 Oct 2013



Comments18 Comments





McKinsey, the US management consultancy firm, will help chief operating officer Charlotte Hogg – who previously worked at McKinsey – examine the Bank’s working methods. It will make sure the institution is organised properly to support its inflation-fighting and financial stability mandates.


Deloitte, meanwhile, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, has been recruited to conduct a “value for money” study of the Bank’s basic functions in its “central services” support division, including human resources and IT.


The contracts demonstrate new Governor Mr Carney’s determination to modernise and professionalise Britain’s central bank as it absorbs the remnants of the Financial Services Authority and takes responsibility for bank supervision. Earlier this year, he told MPs the Bank would need “an effective, efficient central support function to serve all areas of the expanded institution [and] ensure value for taxpayers”.


After a similar review at the Bank of Canada, where he was governor, he found annual savings of £15m and cut staff numbers by 7pc. It is not the first time the Bank has conducted a strategic review or employed external consultants but the organisational changes could be broader than usual, given the Bank’s expanded remit.


“It is incumbent on the Bank, as servants of the British public, to ensure that we are as effective and efficient as we can be,” said a Bank spokesman.