Most firms are unsurprised by the announcement but unsure what effect it will have on the economy.
Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at the Confederation of British Industry, said: “The MPC has acted promptly by extending quantitative easing this month. This measure will help support confidence but we need to recognise that its impact on near term growth prospects is likely to be relatively modest.”
Both Rathbones and Iveagh, two investment management companies, believe the Bank should come up with more innovative alternatives than quantitative easing if it wants to stimulate the economy.
Julian Chillingworth, chief investment officer at Rathbones, said: “The Bank really needs to consider more innovative measures to drive the stimulus down to grass roots level. It’s become painfully clear that you can’t oil the wheels of the economy just by getting banks to buy bonds.”
He said that if the Bank did not “go at this all guns blazing” then it could risk a major liquidity freeze or confidence crisis.
Chris Wyllie, chief investment officer at Iveagh Private Investment House, said his firm was “disappointed” the Bank had not come up with any more direct measures to get money into the corporate sector and that the Bank’s actions could cause the pound to weaken.
Azad Zangana, European economist at Schroders, said: “In our view, the restarting of quantitative easing will boost confidence and asset prices in financial markets but we remain skeptical over its power to restart lending and therefore have a meaningful impact on the real economy.”