Major reorganisation for Bank of England

A pair of new deputy governors have been added at the Bank of England (BoE) in the most major reorganisation of the body in years.

Governor of the BoE Mark Carney is still putting his stamp on the organisation and has confirmed Ben Broadbent and Dr Nemat Shafik will join the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is the body that sets interest rates for the UK.

The base rate has been held at a record low for the country of 0.5 per cent for the last five years, but speculation is growing that an increase could occur later this year or in 2015.

Mr Broadbent is set to become deputy governor responsible for monetary policy, while Ms Shafik becomes the only woman on the MPC and will take charge of markets and banking.

Speaking at Cass Business School, Mr Carney stated that the financial crisis was a "powerful reminder" to the Bank that in order to maintain economic stability it must to do more than just fight inflation – which is back under control and close to the government's two per cent target.

"These appointments result in a well-rounded senior management team at the Bank – one that will set the direction for an ambitious agenda of transformation for the institution and enable it to meet the challenges and opportunities it faces in maintaining monetary and financial stability," said Mr Carney.

Further appointment

Anthony Habgood has also been named as the chairman of court at the Bank and his is the third new appointment at BoE this week. He will also chair the Oversight Committee of Court.

Dr Shafik stated that she is excited to be joining the MPC "at such a critical time of institutional change" at the BoE, perhaps hinting at a future increase to interest rates.

When the MPC confirmed interest rates were being held earlier this month, Ray Boulger, of leading independent mortgage adviser John Charcol, described the announcement as a "foregone conclusion".

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