What can the money data tell us about the impact of QE?

This article reviews the main influences on broad money growth since the onset of the global crisis, focusing on the impact of the Monetary Policy Committee’s asset purchase programme (QE). The underlying weakness in money growth is likely to have reflected a combination of reduced nominal demand and a restructuring of banks’ balance sheets. QE has played a key role in offsetting some of this weakness and in a way that has not depended on an increase in bank lending. The first two rounds of QE seem to have had a similar proportionate impact on the money supply, but there is some evidence that the transmission mechanism of QE may have been different over the two episodes.