The UK Government has already introduced a range of measures to underpin the banking system, including requiring the injection of additional capital, guaranteeing bank debt and providing insurance against losses on some of the risky assets on banks’ balance sheets. That has served to stabilise the banking system. But we are still some way from having banks that feel sufficiently secure that they can lend normally, and investors that have enough confidence in the banks to provide them with sufficient funds. The Bank will continue to work alongside the Government and the FSA in trying to ensure an adequate flow of funds to business. Unfortunately, past experience in other countries suggests that it often takes time for the banking system to mend after a crisis, and it is possible that the supply of credit will remain impaired for some while. There are two reasons for optimism about the strength of the recovery. First, we have the advantage of a substantial depreciation in sterling, whose trade-weighted value is about a quarter down on its value before the crisis broke. That should encourage buyers to switch to goods and services made in this country and make it more profitable to produce them. As a result, it should facilitate the necessary re-balancing of the economy. Second, an unprecedented policy stimulus is working its way through. In particular, the Monetary Policy Committee has lowered Bank Rate to 0.5%, a level unmatched in the Bank's 315-year history and only marginally above its floor of zero.
But that is not the end of the matter, as investors need to do something with the proceeds from their asset sales. They could just sit on the proceeds, but it is more likely that in due course they will buy other assets, including those that offer a higher return. So, in the course of time, the whole range of equity and bond prices are driven up, lowering the cost of finance to companies and increasing its availability. Our purchases of corporate assets are intended to have the additional effect of improving the functioning of those markets. By standing ready to buy commercial paper and corporate bonds, we hope to improve their liquidity, lowering the spread above safe assets of equivalent maturity, and with it the cost of finance to business. 2  BIS Review 62/2009  There are signs that these measures are having a beneficial impact too. Spreads on commercial paper eligible for purchase have fallen by around ½ percentage point and the size of the market has increased by around 10%. Similarly, average spreads on sterling investment grade corporate bonds for industrial companies have declined by some 60 basis points and gross issuance of bonds by UK companies has been strong. These developments may reflect a range of influences, but feedback from market participants suggests that our purchases have indeed played a helpful role. In addition to these channels, the banks, finding themselves flush with extra reserves, may choose to lend them on, providing a further kick by boosting the supply of credit.