§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Bank of England's current holding of commercial bills; and what significance the Bank's dealings in commercial bills is assumed to have for monetary policy.
§ Mr. Ian Stewart[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1986, c. 398]: At the end of October, the Bank of England's holdings of commercial bills were £9.6 billion.
The object of the Bank's dealings in commercial bills is broadly to offset the cash flows between the Bank and the money markets, and to leave the clearing banks within reach of their desired operational balances. The terms on which the operations are conducted may influence interest rates.