TSC calls for further investigation into BoE liquidity auctions

The successor panel, which will be appointed in May following the election, should draw upon the evidence already collected, and "examine further a number of issues arising from Lord Grabiner’s investigations for the Bank of England into the foreign exchange market and the conduct of liquidity auctions", according to a TSC note.

The Committee have questioned whether the Bank’s processes for setting up the inquiriy was appropriate, and whether Lord Grabiner was wholly independent and able to investigate fit and freely.

The Serious Fraud Office launched a full criminal inquiry into the matter earlier this month. The Committee has asked why the matter was subsequently referred by the Bank to the Serious Fraud Office, and whether the Bank make appropriate decisions about public disclosure of the SFO’s work.

In a statement, the Bank of England said:

"Given the SFO investigation is ongoing, it is not appropriate for the Bank to provide any additional comment on the matter at this time.”

The note questions the "quality and completeness of Lord Grabiner’s report and conclusions" and "the Bank’s response to Lord Grabiner’s report and its proposals for reform, including lines of responsibility, fully addressed the issues raised, including detection of improper behaviour".

The Treasury Committee are currently considering whether further work should await the conclusion of the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation.

Andrew Tyrie MP, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, said:

“The Treasury Committee has recently been taking evidence on Lord Grabiner’s foreign exchange market investigation. Dissolution has prevented that inquiry’s conclusion, leaving a number of issues that the next Committee might consider, set out in the Committee’s note.

"Members have also expressed an interest in the next Treasury Committee examining a number of other issues, among them competition in banking, basic bank accounts, regulatory reform in the light of the Fair and Effective Markets Review, tax policy and the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review.”