Birmingham and Solihull business leaders are calling on the Bank
of England to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme by a
further £25 billion over the next few months to ensure that
the economy does not falter at this critical time.
The consensus is that the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee will
keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
But Bridget Blow, President of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (BCI), said: "We believe there is a strong argument
for a further increase to at least £200 billion.
"Recessionary conditions continue to hinder the recovery of
beleaguered businesses, despite low levels of interest rates and
government's previous efforts to free up liquidity through QE.
"Official figures in August revealed that the economy contracted
by less than originally feared in the second quarter and it is
integral that this is sustained.
"Credit conditions remain "very tight" for firms despite low
levels of interest rates.
While there have been tentative signs of recovery, credit is not
running sufficiently smoothly to propel us decisively out of
recession."