Ben Bernanke to lead review of Bank of England's financial forecasting

July 28 (UPI) -- Former chair of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke will lead a review of the Bank of England's forecasting and related processes, the institution announced on Friday.

Bernanke, who won the Nobel Prize in economics last year, will be supported by the bank's Independent Evaluation Office in developing and strengthening the bank's support for the Monetary Policy Committee's approach to forecasting and monetary policymaking.

The review will examine the forecast and how procedures and analysis support the MPC's deliberations and decision-making.

"Dr. Bernanke is a renowned and award-winning economist whose distinguished career makes him the ideal person to lead this review," Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said in a statement.

"The U.K. economy has faced a series of unprecedented and unpredictable shocks," he said. "The review will allow us to take a step back and reflect on where our processes need to adapt to a world in which we increasingly face significant uncertainty."

Bernanke said that forecasting is an important tool for central banks to create economic outlooks.

"But it is right to review the design and use of forecasts and their role in policymaking, in light of major economic shocks," he said. "So, I am delighted to be leading this work for the bank."

Bernanke, who was working at the Brookings Institute last year, won the Nobel Prize in 2022 with Douglas W. Diamond of the University of Chicago and Philip H. Dybvig of Washington University in St. Louis. The won for studies that "demonstrate the importance of preventing widespread bank collapses."

Bernanke led the Federal Reserve under President George W. Bush in 2006 and continued through both terms of President Barack Obama until 2014.