BoE's Bailey says MPC has 'range of views' on negative rates

Bank of England policymakers differed over how to respond to a report from the BoE's Prudential Regulation Authority that banks wanted six months to prepare for any introduction of negative interest rates, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday.

"There were a range of views on how the MPC should respond to the findings of the PRA ... engagement. The committee was clear that it did not wish to send any signal that it intended to set a negative bank rate at some point in the future," Bailey told a news conference.