§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what profit the Bank of England made on its(a) foreign exchange and (b) gold dealings in each of the last three years. [108447]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 4 February 2000]: The 1997–98 accounts of the Exchange Equalisation Account, the account at the Bank of England which holds the United Kingdom's foreign currency and gold reserves, published on 26 January, provides details of the return earned by the Treasury on the foreign currency reserves. This was the first time the Exchange Equalisation Account has ever been published. The accounts for 1998–99 will be published once the National Audit Office have completed their audit.