Concerns have been raised over the implications of scrapping an old law - and the impact it could have on quantitative easing.
Quantitative easing - the modern-day equivalent of printing money - could become simpler for the Bank of England to do with the passing of a new law, it has been suggested.
The Banking Bill, which has yet to be passed by parliament, proposes to scrap the legal obligation to publish its accounts each week. Instead, the Bank says that it would publish data around a month later.
According to the lawmakers, abolishing this 170-year-old requirement could free up the Bank to perform more effective rescues of financial institutions.
However the move has caused consternation in some quarters, the Sunday Telegraph reports. This is because the change could potentially mean that the Bank would covertly be allowed to print money without letting the public know.
Over recent months, the institution has slashed its official lending rate to its lowest-ever level, in a bid to improve consumer and business loan provision from banks and alleviate the effects of the present economic slowdown. The rate has dropped from five percent last October to its current level of 1.5 percent.
However, if rates go to zero - as they already effectively are in the US - then the Bank could be forced into quantitative easing in order to achieve the boost to loans. This is potentially dangerous, as it could increase inflation to uncontrollable levels.
Commenting on the proposed law change, Simon Ward, economist at New Star, told the newspaper: "Quite why the Bank has to keep its operations so shrouded in secrecy is a mystery to me… This [reform] will make it much more difficult to track what the Bank is doing."
