Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England
The Bank of England and Britain's largest banks are well prepared for a disorderly Brexit but uncertainty about the economic outlook is holding back pay growth, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday.
British media had reported late on Thursday that Carney had warned senior ministers earlier in the day that a chaotic Brexit could lead to house price falls of up to 35 percent over three years as well as spiralling interest rates.
Carney did not address this prospect directly in his speech at Ireland's central bank, though these projections are similar to scenarios the BoE told banks last year to ensure they had guarded against.
"The Bank of England is well-prepared for whatever path the economy takes, including a wide range of potential Brexit outcomes," Carney said, sticking close to previous language on preparations for Brexit.
"We have used our stress test to ensure that the largest UK banks can continue to meet the needs of UK households and businesses even through a disorderly Brexit, however unlikely that may be. Our job, after all, is not to hope for the best but to plan for the worst," he added.
Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday time was running out to secure a Brexit deal and confirmed that Bank of England Governor Mark Carney had agreed to stay to help the country through "a turbulent period" for its economy.Hammond said the government was devoting all its efforts to securing a deal on a new relationship with the European Union before Britain leaves the bloc in March next year but admitted the clock was ticking."Time is running out. We are working against the clock, we understand that," Hammond told parliament. "We will be working flat out over the coming weeks and months to achieve (a deal)."'EU Salzburg summit is a staging post in Brexit talks'Hammond also confirmed that Carney, who said last week he was prepared to stay in his job beyond next June when his term was due to end, had agreed to remain until 2020."I have been discussing with the governor his ability to be able to serve a little longer in post in order to ensure continuity through what could be quite a turbulent period for our economy in the early summer of 2019," Hammond said."I can tell the House today that the governor has agreed, despite various personal pressures to conclude his term in June, that he will continue until the end of January 2020, in order to help support continuity in our economy during this period."UK govt refuses to say if it has taken legal advice on second Brexit referendumThe United Kingdom will leave the EU on March 29 but as yet no full exit deal has been agreed and many lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May's own party object to her own so-called Chequers proposals.Her spokesman said May saw an informal EU summit in Salzburg next week as a "staging post" in Brexit negotiations that would allow EU leaders to discuss her proposals for the first time."It will also be the first time the leaders will discuss together the UK government's white paper which put forward a series of credible and serious proposals," he told reporters.'UK PM May's Brexit plans opposed by 80 rebels in her party'The Chequers proposals envisage continued close trade ties with the EU after Brexit.The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has criticised aspects of May's blueprint but said on Monday he believed a Brexit deal was possible "within six or eight weeks", in comments that lifted the pound currency against the euro and dollar. 
UK finance minister says time running out on Brexit; BoE governor to stay on