 In 2012 the Bank estimated that quantitative easing had benefited households differentially according to the assets they hold; richer households have more assets.In August 2016, the Bank of England said it would buy an additional £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds, to address uncertainty over Brexit and worries about productivity and economic growth.In an emergency meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Bank announced £200bn purchases of government bonds, bringing the total to £645bn.