Bank of England ‘actively exploring’ CBDCs, opens positions for a CBDC department

Bank of England, the United Kingdom’s central bank, recently posted openings for seven different positions focused on the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).On its careers site, the Bank of England listed details for several positions related to the development of CBDCs. The positions range from senior enterprise architect, senior manager, technology analyst, solution architect, project analyst, and stakeholder analyst, all tagged as relating to the creation of CBDCs. A core position for CBDC policy analyst has also been opened.Taken together, these listings imply that the Bank of England is opening a new department that is entirely dedicated to CBDCs.“Like many other central banks, the Bank of England is actively exploring whether it should develop and issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).  No decision has yet been taken on whether or not a CBDC is needed in the UK, but it is an important topic for the Bank to understand,” the listings’ departmental overview stated.A week beforehand, during the recently concluded UK Fintech Week 2021, the UK government announced the creation of a CBDC task force in collaboration with the Bank of England. The task force will be co-chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, and Katharine Braddick, Director General of financial services at Her Majesty’s Treasury. The task force will “coordinate exploratory work” on the matter of CBDCs, according to Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer.This latest foray into digital currencies and financial technology is part of the UK government’s efforts to revitalize its financial services sector post-Brexit.Of this initiative, Sunak stated: “Our vision is for a more open, greener, and more technologically advanced financial services sector. The UK is already known for being at the forefront of innovation, but we need to go further. The steps I’ve outlined today, to boost growing fintechs, push the boundaries of digital finance and make our financial markets more efficient, will propel us forward. And if we can capture the extraordinary potential of technology, we’ll cement the UK’s position as the world’s pre-eminent financial centre.”This exploration on CBDCs will engage research on stablecoin regulation and an implementation that would be pegged to the UK’s pound sterling (GBP). According to the CBDC task force’s terms of reference document, the creation and issuance of a UK CBDC should be “founded upon a strong use case” and should have long-term strategic objectives to “promote innovation, inclusion and competition” to support the UK’s economy.Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.