Le gouverneur de la BoE presse les dirigeants mondiaux de privilégier la collaboration aux conflits, tout en critiquant les menaces répétées de Trump sur les tarifs

Le gouverneur de la Banque d'Angleterre (BoE) a lancé un appel clair aux dirigeants mondiaux : misez sur la coopération, pas sur les guerres commerciales. Dans un discours cinglant, il a taclé les menaces tarifaires récurrentes de l'ancien président américain Donald Trump—une politique qu'il qualifie de 'dangereuse myopie économique'.

Les marchés détestent l'incertitude, et les taxes douanières en cascade n'arrangent rien—surtout quand elles viennent d'un homme qui a déjà fait trembler les indices boursiers avec un simple tweet.

Entre les lignes : cette sortie intervient alors que les tensions géopolitiques menacent de faire dérailler la fragile reprise post-pandémie. La BoE, comme d'autres banques centrales, navigue à vue entre inflation tenace et risques de récession.

Petite pique pour finir : 'Rien ne sert de taxer les importations quand on peut juste imprimer davantage de monnaie', aurait murmuré un trader cynique dans un couloir de la City.

Bailey urges global leaders to choose collaboration over conflict

Bailey also pushed for renewed international cooperation between the US and China to solve outstanding trade and capital-flow imbalances.

He said that China and the US account for nearly 40% of the world’s current account imbalances. The US runs a large trade deficit, and China has a big surplus due to elevated savings and low domestic consumption.

Bailey said the two positions were untenable, adding that economic divisions reinforced political hostility between the sides.

However, Bailey opposed hitting back with tariffs and urged world leaders to work together and reform multilateral institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). And these institutions can better manage worldwide shifts in trading and financial systems, he said.

Bailey said that all parties must agree upon the rules of the process. He cautioned that allowing one dominant player to dictate the rules was not a formula for lasting stability.

He also said the US should explain how it reconciles its increasing domestic fiscal deficit with condemnation of its trade imbalance with the rest of the world. He also urged China to solve its low household consumption and excessive export dependence.

BOE warns stablecoins and digital currencies pose risks

The Bank of England has warned that the widespread use of digital currencies could intensify the severity of bank runs. In a recent Economic Letter, the central Bank noted that when confidence in a bank’s solvency collapses, a rush by depositors to withdraw funds could lead to a rapid loss of liquidity. This, in turn, would dry up other funding sources and render many of the Bank’s assets effectively worthless.

The Bank explained that banks, whose deposits and loans are no longer backed by gold but by short-term securities, could quickly become insolvent in such scenarios. It added that holders of other securities issued by the affected Bank would likely scramble to sell, triggering further panic in the financial markets.

Transitioning from global trade to financial innovation, Bailey’s speech instead raised fears of the rapid expansion of digital assets—particularly stablecoins—and lobbying for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Britain.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable value, typically by being pegged to the value of the US dollar. They are becoming better known as a means of payment and investment, including in the United States, where there have been recent moves to write regulations underpinning their use.

However, Bailey is not convinced of their place in a secure and stable financial system in the future.

He also voiced his reservations over the proposed digital pound under consideration by the Bank of England and the HM Treasury. While some view a UK CBDC as an inevitability, Bailey said the case for innovation “has not yet been made.”

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