Where did the grisbi go?
Guardian of the currency in circulation, the Bank of England has come under fire for its reluctance to locate some £ 50 billion (€ 55 billion) that have come off its radars.
This situation is an indirect effect of the Covid, which changes the uses of individuals.
If the British have become accustomed to paying for their
cup of tea
or their bus journey by contactless card, they have paradoxically withdrawn more cash from distributors since the start of the pandemic.
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With the health crisis, are banknotes really disappearing?
According to the Bank of England, about a quarter of banknotes are used to pay for everyday consumer purchases.
That leaves 50 billion pounds, with three quarters remaining in circulation, the use of which is undetermined.
"The public does not have to explain to the Bank why they want these notes, which means that no note is missing,"
defended a spokesman for the venerable institution of Threadneedle Street.
A little short, for a parliamentary committee, which criticizes this phlegm.
"50 billion pounds of banknotes are stored somewhere and the Bank of England does not know where, or by whom, or why, and hardly seems curious to know it",
chokes Meg Hillier, president of the Commission of public accounts to Parliament.
According to the sleuths of public money, this jackpot is used to inflate the woolen stockings of households packed under their mattresses, left the country, or it feeds laundering and the parallel economy.