Background on Spencer Dale

3.  Spencer Dale has worked as an economist at the Bank of England since 1989. From 1997 to 1999 he served as Private Secretary to Mervyn King, who was then the Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy. In that capacity, Spencer Dale participated in the design and implementation of the structures and processes established to support the newly-created MPC.[6] From 2000 to 2006, he was Head of the Bank's Conjunctural Assessment and Projections Division, overseeing the production of the MPC's quarterly inflation projections and managing the development and implementation of the Bank of England Quarterly Model (BEQM). Since 2006, he has worked as a Senior Adviser at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the United States of America, attending policy meetings of the Federal Open Markets Committee. He has an MSc in economics from the University of Warwick and has written or been co-author of articles relating to monetary policy strategy, central bank communications and financial markets.

Our evidence

4.  In oral evidence, we asked Spencer Dale about his experiences relevant to his post as Executive Director, Monetary Analysis and Statistics, and Chief Economist, including—

• lessons he drew from working for the Federal Reserve System;
• reflections on the development of BEQM; and
• his knowledge of the world outside the Bank.

Conclusions

5.  We are satisfied that Spencer Dale meets our two criteria for appointment to the Monetary Policy Committee of professional competence and personal independence. We wish him every success as a member of that body.