The Bank of England and the Government Debt

William A. Allen is a Visitor at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. He worked at the Bank of England from 1972 to 2004, serving as a senior official in the Gild-Edged Division from 1982 to 1986.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Price and quantity discovery, market making and liquidity in the gilt market; 3. Government securities and the structure of the Stock Exchange; 4. Government debt management before 1928; 5. The gilt market and the Issue Department 1928–39; 6. Government debt management and the gilt market in the Second World War; 7. Post-War: 1945–51; 8. The gilt market from the reactivation of monetary policy until 1960; 9. Gilt market liquidity in the 1960s; 10. The high tide of intervention: 1960–66; 11. The conflict with monetary policy recognised and addressed: 1967–70; 12. Competition and credit control, 1970–72; 13. The Bank of England's contribution to market liquidity; 14. Governance in practice; 15. Conclusions; 16. Epilogue: bearing the cost of providing liquidity.

'This is the fascinating story of how the Bank of England deployed its huge powers in the gilt-edged market for nearly half a century. If you want to know why Parliamentary scrutiny of the Bank of England matters today, this book provides some instructive history. If you want to know what was really going on in monetary policy and government debt management before, during and after the war, it is an essential read.' Andrew Tyrie, former Chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and of the Treasury Select Committee