Bank of England hires IMF forecaster for senior research job

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has hired a senior economic forecaster from the International Monetary Fund to guide a new research unit that will help the central bank widen its thinking on economic policy, the BoE said on Monday. Michael Kumhof, a German national in charge of the IMF's main global forecasting model, will take on the new role of senior research advisor to a unit created as part of changes by Governor Mark Carney earlier this year. BoE chief economist Andy Haldane said Kumhof would help "establish our new approach to research at the Bank". Haldane has often spoken of how policymakers focused too much on inflation targets and not enough on managing credit flows in the run-up to the financial crisis. As well as economic forecasting, Kumhof has taken an interest in oil prices, the relationship between excessive inequality and indebtedness, and banks' role in creating money. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)