Ex-Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke to lead Bank of England forecasts review

Nobel Prize-winner Ben Bernanke will lead a review into how the central bank forecasts the economy, the Bank of England has said.

The US economist, who was chairman of the Federal Reserve for eight years until 2014, will be supported by the Bank’s Independent Evaluation Office.

Last month the Bank said it planned to launch a review, amid criticism for failing to predict the scale and duration of inflation over the past two years.

It comes as the Bank of England has sought to bring down inflation, which stood at 7.9% last month, through a raft of interest rate hikes.

The central bank is expected to rise rates further to 5.25% at the meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) next week.

The Bank said the review aims to “strengthen the Bank’s support for the MPC’s approach to forecasting and monetary policy making in times of uncertainty”.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said: “Dr Bernanke is a renowned and award-winning economist whose distinguished career makes him the ideal person to lead this review.

“The UK economy has faced a series of unprecedented and unpredictable shocks.

“The review will allow us to take a step back and reflect on where our processes need to adapt to a world in which we increasingly face significant uncertainty.”

Mr Bernanke said: “Forecasts are an important tool for central banks to assess the economic outlook.

“But it is right to review the design and use of forecasts and their role in policymaking, in light of major economic shocks.

“So I am delighted to be leading this work for the Bank.”