News Release
Bank of England Creates Agency for the North West
17 November 1999
At a meeting in Manchester today to present the Bank's Inflation Report, John Vickers, Chief Economist of the Bank and a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee announced that the Bank of England is to link its two existing Agencies in the North West of England.
This change offers the opportunity to enhance the Bank's coverage of the North West through the co-ordination of its reporting of the economy and of economic trends within the Region. It brings together the two offices in the North West under common management, whilst retaining an active presence in both Liverpool and Manchester.
The new North West Agency will be responsible for Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire and, in due course, will assume responsibility for those parts of Cumbria, currently covered by the Bank's Newcastle Agency. Tony Strachan (43), who is currently the Bank's Agent in Manchester, has been appointed as its first Agent for the North West and will be supported by Neil Ashbridge, in Liverpool. They are being joined by Margaret O'Brien, a new recruit to the Bank in Manchester. Neil Kemsley, the Agent in Liverpool, is retiring from the Bank in March 2000.
The role of the Bank's Agencies is to maintain contact with a wide range of businesses and institutions in their regions, covering all sectors of the UK economy. Agents each see some fifty contacts per month, mainly through company visits, the information from which forms the basis of a monthly report to the Monetary Policy Committee to help its understanding and assessment of current economic conditions.
The Agencies are also involved with a wide range of business organisations such as the Chambers of Commerce and the regional CBI and they maintain close contact with the Regional Development Agencies, TECs, Business Links and Universities. Part of an Agent's role is also to represent the Bank and explain its work and policies.
This move will bring the Bank's network to twelve regions covering the entire United Kingdom.
Tony Strachan says "I welcome this opportunity to take a broader view of the economic factors affecting the whole of the North West, working closely with a number of organisations whose coverage of the region is increasingly matching that of the North West Development Agency. I shall enjoy spending time getting to know those parts of the Region that are new to me and I will maintain a base in both the Bank's Manchester and Liverpool Agency offices. My colleague, Neil Kemsley is well known in the North West and has played a significant role in the Region over many years: I look forward to building on what he has achieved."
Notes for Editors
- The Bank's twelve regional agencies have offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Greater London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton, and Cambridge.
- There has been a Bank Agent in Manchester since 1826 and in Liverpool since 1827.
- Tony Strachan (43) joined the Bank in 1974 and has worked in a number of areas, including a two year secondment to the City Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and holds an MBA from the Open University. He was appointed Agent in Manchester with effect from October 1995.
- Neil Ashbridge (44) has been the Deputy Agent in Liverpool since 1992. He joined the Bank in Liverpool in 1973, before moving to London where he spent 15 years in the Bank's Banking Department and International Divisions. He is currently President of the Liverpool & District Institute of Bankers and is a Board Member of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and of Hornby Homes. Margaret O'Brien (51) holds a Masters degree in economics from Manchester University, and lectured in statistics there early in her career. She has subsequently worked as an analyst and forecaster for James Morrell & Associates and, later, the Henley Centre for Forecasting. More recently she has been Treasurer of the Princess Christian College and a non-executive director of the Central Manchester Health Trust.
- Neil Kemsley has been the Bank's Agent for Liverpool and Northern Ireland since 1992. During his time as Agent he has been closely involved with the creation and development of the Merseyside Special Investment Fund and acted as its first Chairman. He remains as a non-executive director of the Fund.
- The only area of Cumbria covered by the North West Agencies at present is the Furness peninsular. The Bank's Newcastle Agent currently covers the rest of the County. This arrangement will continue for the time being, so far as existing contacts are concerned, in order to provide continuity. However, the North West Agency will begin to develop knowledge of, and links with, Cumbria in its dealings with a variety of governmental, representational and business groupings across the North West as a whole.
