Financial Policy Committee (FPC)
By identifying, monitoring and addressing systemic risks to the resilience of the UK’s financial system, the FPC aims to prevent serious disruptions to the vital functions performed by the financial system, which can disproportionately impact lower income households where individuals with certain protected characteristics, including those of disability, minority ethnic race and female sex, are often overrepresented. Further, while focused on enhancing the stability of the UK financial system, the FPC’s policies are explicitly designed to limit any significant adverse effects on growth of the UK economy. In so doing the FPC supports the provision of sustainable access to finance for individuals (including those with characteristics referred to above) as well as employment across the UK. The FPC continues to have due regard to the PSED when exercising its public functions.
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
The MPC is tasked with setting monetary policy and meeting HM Government’s target of keeping inflation at 2%. The distributional impact of monetary policy is difficult to measure with precision but analysis by staff suggests that the overall effect of monetary policy, including quantitative easing, on standard measures of income and wealth inequality (which have the potential to reflect the position of individuals sharing particular protected characteristics under equality legislation) has been small.
Prudential Regulation Authority
The PRA is responsible for promoting the safety and soundness of PRA regulated firms and, for insurers, contributing to the protection of policyholders. In doing so, the PRA’s policies and supervisory approach support a resilient financial system that underpins the provision of essential financial services to households and businesses across the UK, including those with protected characteristics who may be more vulnerable to disruption or firm failure. While focused on its statutory objectives, the PRA considers the potential for its actions, in policy development and decision-making, to have differential impacts, for example through effects on access to financial services or on firms serving particular communities. The PRA continues to have due regard to the PSED in the exercise of its functions.Wholesale cash distribution
An increasing number of individuals and businesses are benefiting from the convenience, security, and speed of digital payments. Conversely, the transactional use of cash continues to decline. In spite of that, cash remains a valued form of money for many in society, including the elderly and those on lower incomes (households in which individuals with certain protected characteristics, including those of ethnic minority race and female sex, can be disproportionately represented), with many using it to budget and manage their household finances. As such, a lack of access to cash can highly impact certain groups who share protected characteristics, including age and disability. HM Government has given us powers to oversee and supervise the wholesale distribution of cash as set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023). To date relevant market participants have been designated under the regime, and we are working closely with them to monitor the overall health of the industry, helping ensure UK wholesale cash distribution arrangements remain effective, resilient, and sustainable. We continue to have due regard to PSED in the exercise of our public functions under the regime.
Equality objectives: 2026 - 2030
The Bank of England’s (including the PRA) equality objectives in relation to our public sector equality duty referred to above include representation targets that help ensure that we are on the right path, with momentum, towards attracting and retaining a gender and ethnically diverse workforce at all levels and being a minority ethnic employer of choice. We see these targets as contributing to our mission and functions by enabling the development of appropriate policies and practices within the organisation that will encourage decision‑making that better reflects the society we serve.
Details of our diversity targets are set out on our Corporate Responsibility webpage - refer to Corporate Responsibility webpage. We publish details of our progress towards these targets in our annual report”