Bank of England won't hesitate to act on housing risks: deputy chief

London

BANK of England (BOE) deputy governor Jon Cunliffe said the central bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) won't hold back from quashing risks that appear in the housing market.

In a speech in London late on Tuesday, the deputy governor for financial stability highlighted three property "hotspots" that warrant attention: buy-to-let, lending at high loan-to-income ratios to owner occupiers and commercial real estate. He also singled out consumer lending as a separate threat.

"The committee is monitoring property markets closely," Mr Cunliffe said, according to the text of the speech. "It has already taken action and would not hesitate to do so again if it is needed to protect financial stability." With the UK benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.5 per cent for more than seven years, stability officials are on the front line of the response to housing-market risks. Mr Cunliffe, who sits on both the FPC and the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee said he "would expect the FPC's attention to risks around property to increase as the credit cycle becomes mo…