This article recaps an event held at the Bank of England on 2-3 July 2014. The article covers three main points. First, it situates the event within the context of the Bank’s new approach to data as set out in the Bank’s Strategic Plan. Second, it summarises and reflects on major themes from...

Money is essential to the workings of a modern economy, but its nature has varied substantially over time. This article provides an introduction to what money is today. Money today is a type of IOU, but one that is special because everyone in the economy trusts that it will be accepted by other...

This article reviews the main influences on broad money growth since the onset of the global crisis, focusing on the impact of the Monetary Policy Committee’s asset purchase programme (QE). The underlying weakness in money growth is likely to have reflected a combination of reduced nominal...

The Quarterly Bulletin has a long tradition of using historical data to help analyse the latest developments in the UK economy. To mark the Bulletin’s 50th anniversary, this article places the recent UK recession in a long-run historical context. It draws on the extensive literature on UK...

The growth of broad money in the UK economy has slowed dramatically since the start of the recession. In part, that weakness reflects reduced borrowing by households and companies during the recession. But money balances held by asset managers also fell as deposits were used to purchase new...

This article explains how the majority of money in the modern economy is created by commercial banks making loans. Money creation in practice differs from some popular misconceptions — banks do not act simply as intermediaries, lending out deposits that savers place with them, and nor do they...