In the 1930s, in response to some criticism of the Bank of England by Lord Keynes, Sir Ernst Harvey, the Deputy Governor, deposed before the Macmillan Committee: “As regards criticism, we (at the Bank of England) do not admit there is a need for defence; to defend ourselves is somewhat akin to a lady starting to defend her virtue.” Fast forward to today.
Euro area developments and outlook In the euro area, incoming economic data, particularly recent survey results, have started to show unprecedented falls, pointing to a large contraction in output in the euro area, as well as to rapidly deteriorating labour markets.