On Tuesday 16 November 2021, the Lords Economic Affairs Committee will be taking evidence on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) from John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and Charles Roxburgh, Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.
Meeting details
Likely questions
Topics the committee is likely to cover in these sessions include:
- Would a CBDC increase the role and responsibilities of the Bank of England?
- What role will Parliament have in the decision whether to launch a CBDC?
- Will the City of London’s competitiveness decline if the UK does not keep pace with CBDC developments in other financial centres?
- How will the Government ensure that the UK sets the standards that CBDCs should follow?
- What approach will the Government take to the trade-off between the need for rigorous standards on privacy and ensuring payments meet anti-money laundering (AML) and other compliance requirements?
- What does it mean for the UK if CBDCs provide alternative and attractive payment options outside systems such as SWIFT, which tend to be dominated by the dollar?
The committee’s inquiry is looking at the main issues confronting HM Treasury and the Bank of England as they explore the potential of a possible CBDC for the UK. It will also examine how a CBDC might affect the role of the Bank, monetary policy and the financial sector.
Last week the committee took evidence from: Patrick Honohan, Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland; Eswar Prasad, Senior Professor of Trade Policy and Professor of Economics at Cornell University; Jana Mackintosh, Managing Director for Payments and Innovation, UK Finance; and Peter Randall, Principal, The Aurora Project. You can watch the sessions back on Parliament TV.
You can watch these evidence sessions on Parliamentlive.tv - Lords