Chancellor appoints external member of Monetary Policy Committee
Chancellor announces that Ben Broadbent has been appointed to succeed Andrew Sentance as external member on the Monetary Policy Committee.
The Chancellor today announced that Ben Broadbent has been appointed to succeed Andrew Sentance as external member on the Monetary Policy Committee. The appointment will take effect on 1 June 2011.
The Chancellor said:
I am delighted that Ben Broadbent has agreed to join the Monetary Policy Committee. His broad professional experience in the financial sector and academia, as well as his detailed knowledge of the UK economy, will be extremely valuable to the Committee.
The Chancellor also thanked Andrew Sentance for his service on the Monetary Policy Committee since 2006. Andrew’s more than four and a half years on the MPC come to an end on 31 May 2011.
The Chancellor said:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew for his original analysis and many other invaluable contributions to the debate during his two terms on the Committee since 2006.
Notes for Editors
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Ben Broadbent has been Senior European Economist at Goldman Sachs since 2000 and Managing Director since 2006. He was formerly Assistant Professor at Columbia University and has worked at H.M. Treasury and the Bank of England. He has a PhD from Harvard University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and a first-class honours degree from Cambridge University.
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The Monetary Policy Committee makes decisions about the operation of monetary policy. It comprises the Governor of the Bank of England, the two deputy Governors, two members of the Bank with responsibility in the Bank for monetary policy and market operations and four outside members with relevant expertise who are appointed by the Chancellor. The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.
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The vacancy for Andrew Sentance’s position on the MPC was advertised in the media in January 2011. Twenty-seven applications for the position were received, of which one was from a woman. The Government would like to see a greater number of women apply for future appointments and will continue to encourage them to do so.
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A panel comprising Dave Ramsden and Tom Scholar from the Treasury and Kate Barker, external member to the MPC 2001-10, interviewed a number of candidates and made recommendations to the Chancellor, which informed his decision.
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Future vacancies on the Monetary Policy Committee will continue to be advertised.
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