Recommendation 5

The Bank of England’s stock of notes seems high and it is not clear to us how the Bank decides upon what is an appropriate stock level. The Bank holds stocks of notes well above its own policies for minimum levels of stocks. For example, at the end of July 2020, it held contingency stocks with a value of £30.4 billion, against its minimum guidance levels of £15.6 billion. We recognise that the Bank would not wish to risk running out of notes. However, we do not understand the Bank’s rationale for holding such high levels of stocks. The Bank does accept that it needs to improve the transparency with which it takes decisions on printing notes. Recommendation: The Bank should ensure that it properly records and evidences the judgements it makes about printing notes and its stock levels so that it can be properly held to account for the decisions it makes.