BoE announces new bank stimulus packages

Together with the Treasury, it will provide billions of pounds worth of cheap credit to banks which they can then use to lend to companies, BoE governor Sir Mervyn King has said. Additionally, it is to offer banks access to short-term money in the event of "exceptional market stresses". The Bank has already pumped £325bn into the economy through a programme called quantitative easing (QE), under which it buys up government bonds. Speaking at Mansion House on Thursday, King said the eurozone debt crisis had pushed up funding costs in the banking sector, which had then impacted on bu...