Minutes of Money Market Committee meeting – March 2025

Minutes

Item 1 – Welcome

The Chair thanked members for attending and confirmed that the Minutes of the December 2025 meeting had been published on the Bank’s website.^{footnote [1]}

 The Chair welcomed Cristiano Guidi to his first meeting as a new member of the Money Markets Committee (MMC) and those who were attending as part of the Bank’s Meeting Varied People (MVP) initiative. The Chair also announced that Vicky Worsfold has stepped down from her position in the MMC, and thanked her for her contributions over the years.

The Chair noted the Bank of England’s Discussion Paper on the Indexed Long-term repo facility (ILTR) had closed for comments now, thanking members for their responses.

Item 2 - Discussion on Market Conditions

A representative of the UK MMC delivered an overview of current market conditions. The presentation encompassed three key areas: (1) cash and repo markets, including reflections on year-end activity; (2) the macroeconomic outlook and the projected trajectory of policy rates across the UK, US, and Euro Area; and (3) recent developments in the government bond market.

During the discussion, members highlighted the relatively stable nature of UK money markets at the year end of 2024, with activity and pricing aligning with expectations. As had been seen in previous years, they noted evidence of banks adjusting their balance sheets to reduce capital charges, which, has driven up costs for both end lenders and borrowers around key reporting dates.

In addition, members noted the narrowing gap between SONIA and the Bank Rate, attributing this observed trend to the ongoing reduction in sterling reserves and specific demand from certain jurisdictions—a pattern they anticipate will continue.

The committee also discussed the treatment of sovereign debt in the calculation of regulatory leverage ratios across jurisdictions. In particular, members examined emerging discussions in the US regarding the potential exemption of US Treasuries (and reserves) from the Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR), and the potential implications for the gilt market.

Finally, members remarked on the tightness in the FX basis, emphasising that movements in money markets had not spilled over into other markets through foreign exchange channels.

Item 3 - Sub-Committee updates – UK Money Markets Code

The Bank noted the updated Global FX Code and acknowledged the recent amendments to the UK Money Markets Code, providing the committee with an overview of the latest meeting. In that discussion the importance of further socialising the code was emphasised, with recognition of its value seen as a key driver to promote wider engagement.

Item 4 – Sterling Money Markets Dataset Update

The Bank provided an overview of its Sterling Money Markets dataset, highlighting its usage in several key areas. For unsecured markets, this included historical movements and trends in the Sonia rate and volumes. For secured markets, an update was given on repo trading volumes and outstanding stocks. Key themes identified included a shift in the balance of cash collateral within money markets, and hedge fund borrowing patterns.

Members were interested in what insights the dataset could provide about repo collateral haircuts, prompting a short discussion around minimum gilt repo haircuts in particular.

Committee Attendees

Committee members

James Winterton – Association of Corporate Treasurers
Cristiano Guidi – Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ina Budh-Raja – Bank of New York Mellon
Emma Cooper – BlackRock
James Murphy – HSBC
Chris Brown – Insight Investment
Inna Shaykevich – Goldman Sachs
Tony Baldwin – LCH
John Wherton – LGIM
Scott Creed – Lloyds Bank
Romain Sinclair – Société Générale
Nina Moylett – M&G
Nic Erevik – Newcastle Building Society
Gordon Lowson – Abrdn
Edward Bond – J.P. Morgan
Alan Williams – Santander UK
John Argent – Tradition

MVP Attendees and Observers

Josefine Urban – LGIM
Maria Doherty- Association of Corporate Treasurers
Alan Barnes – FCA
Jo Whelan – DMO

Bank of England

Matt Roberts-Sklar (Chair)
Vicky Saporta
Tom Archer
Simon Dolan
Jack Welling
Kirstine Macmillan
Grainne McGread
Callum Ashworth
Joel Mundy
Joanna McLafferty

Apologies

Marije Verhelst – Euroclear
Avi Tillu – PIMCO
Chirag Patel – Rabobank