The chief economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, has said that the central bank is not “remotely close” to taking a decision on pushing interest rates below zero.

Speaking in a 26 May webinar hosted by the Confederation for British Industry, Haldane said that “reviewing and doing are different things”. On 20 May, the central bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, had said that negative rates are under review, and in the bank’s “tool kit”.