Bank of England Governor Bailey and other officials appeared before the UK Parliament's Treasury Committee on Monday.
Bailey faced questions on numerous topics, some of which covered the trashing of UK assets, including GBP and gilts (UK government bonds) in September 2022 after then-Prime Minister Liz Truss’s budget program set out a series of unfunded tax cuts. Asset values have since bounced back. At the time the Bank of England stepped into markets to buy bonds and stem the rout. Bailey said the risk premium on UK assets since September is “pretty much gone”. Said though that confidence remains fragile.
Bailey confirmed BOE profits of circa £3.8 billion from emergency bond purchases it made last year. The sale of these was completed on January 12.
GBP - the sell-off can be seen in the second half of September 2022, then subsequent bounce back on Bank of England gilt intervention and rally: