Tag Archive for quantitative easing

HOSIE COMMENTS ON FURTHER £50BN MONEY PRINTING PLAN

May 8, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

SNP Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has commented on news that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said it planned to inject an additional £50bn through quantitative easing, raising the total to £125 billion, from £75 billion.

Mr Hosie said:

“The jury is still out on how effective quantitative easing will be in getting the economy back on track, and the MPC’s decision to print another £50bn suggests that the Treasury has underestimated how much needs to be done to stimulate the economy and bank lending.

“However, the fact remains that parliament has never had an opportunity to debate this formally. We have had no statement from the Treasury on committing another £50bn to this project – now running at an amount equivalent to 20 per cent of the UKs annual tax take.

“It is quite outrageous that Ministers have not allowed time for a proper debate.”

MPC ANNOUNCEMENT UNDERLINES CREDIT MARKETS STILL NOT MOVING

April 10, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

“HIGH PRICE OF LOANS CRIPPLING BUSINESS”

Commenting on the announcement that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is to keep interest rates at a historically low 0.5% and continue with a £75bn programme of quantitative easing, SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP said:

“Alistair Darling’s attempts to jumpstart the economy are not working, and indeed he admitted that recovery is likely to take much longer than he predicted in November.

“The real difficulty is the cost of borrowing. Every day, I hear reports of loans being offered at well above LIBOR. This is crippling business.

“Last month, the MPC approved a radical programme of quantitative easing but this is yet to have the desired effect of getting credit markets moving.

“I have long held reservations about the effectiveness of printing money. While it is early days, the Japanese experience in the 1990s – where bank lending actually decreased – offers little encouragement.

“One thing we do know is that the UK Parliament was denied the opportunity to formally debate whether this tactic would work before it was introduced.”

PRINTING MONEY ‘A PRIME EXAMPLE OF AGE OF IRRESPONSIBILITY’

March 26, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

SNP EXPRESSES CONTINUING CONCERN OVER QUANTITATIVE EASING

SNP Treasury Spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has today (Thursday) raised concerns over the lack of evidence for the UK Government’s high risk strategy of quantitative easing with the Chancellor.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hosie pointed to the experience in Japan where the government implemented the same policy and, instead of improving the availability of credit, actually made the economy worse. Research published by both bankers and academics suggests that overall levels of bank lending decreased during the period in which the policy was in operation.

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“The Treasury has embarked on an incredibly risky strategy without parliamentary scrutiny or any evidence to suggest it would actually work – yet another prime example of Gordon Brown’s age of irresponsibility.

“Banks are still refusing to lend leaving businesses across the country in a perilous position.

“Desperate attempts by Downing Street to pin the blame for the financial crisis on other countries will be cold comfort.”

HOSIE EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER MONEY PRINTING PLANS

March 5, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

‘UK ECONOMIC SITATION IS CRITICAL’

Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) of a further 0.5% cut in interest rates by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, SNP Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie MP said:

“The UK economic situation is now critical. Many of the UK Government’s support schemes are still in the planning stages and this latest interest rate cut confirms that banks are still not lending.

The MPC have also announced the Bank of England will proceed with quantitative easing. Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“Similar measures undertaken in Japan in the early 1990s did not have the desired effect. Indeed, bank lending actually declined after the measure was enacted.

“While I would not challenge the MPC’s independence, I have grave concerns that Parliament was denied the opportunity to discuss this radical measure.”

SNP EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN OVER QUANTITATIVE EASING

February 19, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

SNP Treasury Spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, has expressed deep concern over the Bank of England’s unanimous decision to approve quantitative easing.

Mr Hosie pointed to the experience in Japan where the government implemented the same policy and, instead of improving the availability of credit, actually made the economy worse. Research published by both bankers and academics suggests that overall levels of bank lending decreased during the period in which the policy was in operation.

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“Recent examples of printing money show that this is an incredibly risky approach and I hope the MPC considered all the evidence.

“The experience from Japan does not appear to support the claim that printing money will result in more lending as the MPC appears to believe, indeed lending may actually decline.”

SNP TO PROBE GOVERNMENT BAIL-OUT ACTIONS

February 10, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS PRINTING MONEY WILL NOT WORK

SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie MP has written to the Chancellor and Trade Secretary seeking a detailed assessment of the impact of every bail-out measure announced by the UK Government to help businesses survive the Downing Street depression.

His request comes as the Financial Services Authority warned the UK is facing a deeper recession than predicted as a result of the lack of available credit.

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“Despite the flurry of announcements designed to give the impression of doing something, real questions remain as to the effectiveness of the UK Government’s actions.

“Every day, we hear reports of more redundancies and closures. The raft of measures announced to date has simply not worked and businesses are still struggling to get the credit they need to weather this economic storm.

“Business organisations are becoming increasingly vocal in their concern as to what impact measures taken by the UK Government are having. I have written to the Chancellor and Lord Mandelson to seek assurances that the UK Government is not simply throwing away taxpayers money.”

Mr Hosie has also questioned the UK Government’s enthusiasm for quantitative easing, noting that this approach actually saw a decline in bank lending when it was deployed in Japan:

“Alistair Darling has written to the Bank of England confirming a framework for quantitative easing – an unsettling sign that printing money is on the cards.

“Recent examples of printing money show that this is an incredibly risky approach.

“Academics and bankers both agree that quantitative easing in Japan resulted in a decrease in lending by banks. Printing money will not solve the problems facing the UK economy – it may well aggravate them.

“Given the appalling track record of the Labour Government on economic policy, I would urge that the Chancellor seek approval from the House of Commons before embarking down this dangerous path.”

SNP URGE TREASURY CAUTION BEFORE EMBARKING ON NON-STANDARD MEASURES

February 6, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

NO QUANTITATIVE EASING WITHOUT COMMONS APPROVAL

SNP Treasury spokesman, Stewart Hosie MP, has welcomed the latest interest rate cut by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee but warned that, should this cut and the fiscal stimulus packages already announced fail to turn the economy around, the Treasury may be forced to consider more radical and non-standard action.

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“While this measure is welcome insofar as it may boost the credit available to struggling businesses, it puts the UK economy in an unprecedented situation.

“As we approach a zero percent interest rate position, the Chancellor and the Bank of England may be forced to consider non-standard action such as quantitative easing.

“The Japanese experience of quantitative easing gives little comfort that any additional lending would be forthcoming. It would be a risky course of action to take. In my view, such a non-standard course of action would require approval by the House of Commons.”

HOSIE ON INTEREST RATE CUT AND MONEY PRINTING

January 20, 2009 Stewart Hosie MP No comments

‘CHANCELLOR MUST CONSIDER SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS’

Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) of a further 0.5% cut in interest rates by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, SNP Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie MP said:

“As we head into a recession, any action to make it as short and shallow as possible is welcome, but the scale of this and recent cuts shows how critical the situation has become and confirms that the banks are not yet lending again to businesses and individuals.

“The UK Government must take further measures to ensure money starts flowing. In addition to this cut they must review the 12.5 % dividend they are expecting from the recapitalised banks.”

In response to reports the Chancellor is considering printing more money to help boost the economy, Mr Hosie added:

“I would urge the Chancellor to think carefully about the very serious implications this move. What Treasury officials will describe as quantitative easing will conjure up images of wheelbarrows full of worthless cash for everyone else – and risks future inflation and a further serious weakening of sterling.

“In addition to monetary policy, the economy needs a fiscal stimulus. Analysis produced by the Scottish Government suggests that a programme of capital investment of equal value would have safeguarded twice as many jobs as the recent VAT cut.

“If the UK Government was really committed to supporting the Scottish economy, they would scrap their planned £1 billion cut to Scotland’s budget in 2010 and 2011 which pose a major threat to jobs and services in Scotland.”

 

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