By Bob Lyddon – 4 minutes read
The UK’s Central Bank Digital Currency project demonstrates Bank of England independence – from us and our political representatives
Introduction
RISHI SUNAK and Jeremy Hunt have brought about the complete independence of the Bank of England – more than under Gordon Brown’s actions when he became Chancellor. The Bank’s status vis-a-vis Parliament is now the same as the status of the European Central Bank towards European authorities: autonomy.
The Bank’s ‘Britcoin’ project exemplifies this: the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency – or CBDC. Vested interests dominate it, drawing its evidence from a narrow range of sources. The investigation process is a smokescreen for the Bank to push ahead with major alterations to national life regardless of opposition and events in the real world.
For full details please refer to the latest Global Britain pamphlet ‘Why the Bank of England is beyond Control’ for a full exposition.
Central banking in a Brexit context
Brexiteers expected the Bank to be reined in after supporting ‘Project Fear’. Instead it has pursued policies, like Quantitative Easing (QE) and ultra-low interest rates, in lock step with other central banks.
Its reference points are international: the Federal Reserve Bank, the European Central Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements etc..
These bodies – and their fellow travellers in the payment card eco-systems, management consultancies, and trade bodies for the financial technology and cryptocurrency industries – have opined positively on CBDCs. The Bank can therefore present its own enthusiasm for Britcoin as market-based and demand-driven.
Vested interests and poor governance of the Britcoin CDBC project
The paper ‘CAPTURE – BigTech and Digital Payment Giants dominate the committees evaluating the replacement of physical cash with ‘Britcoin’ – a UK ‘Central Bank Digital Currency’’.[1] published by Lyddon Consulting demonstrates the dominance of vested interests and the numerous governance shortfalls.
The Bank is allowing the project to be front-run[2] by a ‘concert party’[3] of organizations who will benefit financially from its going ahead.
Independent or out-of-control? Read the papers and you decide.
[1] http://www.lyddonconsulting.com/capture-a-major-new-paper-on-the-committees-considering-a-uk-central-bank-digital-currency/accessed on 12 November 2022
[2] ‘Front-running’: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/frontrunning.asp accessed on 8 December 2022
[3] ‘Concert party’: phrase used in the financial world for a group of ostensibly autonomous market actors who have entered into an agreement to behave in the same way to their collective advantage, for example by supporting a new issue of shares.