Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said Friday that his vote at the monetary policy committee for extra bond purchases in the past few months was driven by the need to continue supporting the ongoing balance-sheet adjustments across the economy.
"My policy vote has been driven by the need to continue supporting the required real adjustments - which still have much to work through - but cautiously, so as not to risk inflation expectations becoming de-anchored," Fisher, who is an MPC member and the central bank's Executive Director for markets, said.
He said it is likely that growth will continue to be below its previous trend until more of the real adjustments to balance sheets across the economy have been made. Nonetheless, he said the economy "may be beginning to see some signs of a pick-up", though a return to boom conditions is unlikely anytime soon.
"My personal view is that faster growth in the near-term might actually help keep inflation down for a while as productivity growth picks up," he added.
The central bank should to continue to play its part in supporting the recovery towards genuine real growth. "But monetary policy can only take us so far and the necessary real adjustments will need real changes and, most importantly, real time to work through," he added.
Defending the BoE's bond purchase program, Fisher said if quantitative easing has contributed to inflation, still being somewhat over-target at around 2 .5 percent now, that is a much better outcome than the alternative of a deeper recession and a greater risk of deflation.
"I have not heard anyone suggest a more convincing or attractive policy stance for monetary policy than that which we have pursued," he said.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.