Member Article

Coventry and Warwickshire businesses meet the Bank of England

The Bank of England sees the post-Covid future for the economy as positive but with large doses of cautionary realism, businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire have heard.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce welcomed Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England’s Agent in the West Midlands, onto a call with firms from a range of sectors from across the region.

Businesses – from manufacturing through to banking – gave Graeme their take on how they expect their own companies to emerge from the crisis once restrictions begin to be lifted.

That was following an update on where the Bank believes the economy may be heading, should the Government’s roadmap stay on course.

Graeme said: “The anticipation from the Bank of England is that UK economic activity is likely to recover strongly over 2021 towards pre-Covid levels. And the extension of the Government’s Job Retention Scheme is likely to soften any near-term rise in unemployment.

“However, risks remain on both the upside and on the downside. “The outlook for the economy is unusually uncertain. It continues to depend on the evolution of the pandemic and measures taken to protect public health. And it depends on how households and businesses respond to those developments.”

He added: “It is always great to hear from business people on how they are finding the current climate, as that helps us to get a clearer picture of what is happening on the ground.”

Issues flagged by firms included the UK-EU trading relationship, rising transport costs and a shortage of raw materials.

Sean Rose, policy officer of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “We are very grateful to Graeme Chaplin and the Bank of England for the update and it was great to give many of our members the chance to report back on how they are finding life in business on the back of the Budget, Brexit and the Government’s roadmap out of restrictions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .