El-Erian says PM May's comments unlikely to have immediate impact on BoE policy

LONDON, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May's criticism of low interest rates and quantitative easing are unlikely to have an immediate impact on Bank of England policy, Allianz (Hanover: ALVN.HA - news) 's Mohamed A. El-Erian told Reuters.

May said on Wednesday that while super-low interest rates and quantitative easing provided some emergency medicine following the financial crisis, there had been some bad side-effects.

"In joining the expanding political bandwagon criticizing banks and globalization, Prime Minister May's remarks suggest that this phenomenon now extends well beyond campaign rhetoric," El-Erian, the chief economic adviser to Allianz, said.

"Her statements are even more notable because they come from a country that has benefited enormously from economic and financial internationalization, and from a government that, in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, was shielded from unsettling financial instability by effective measures from the Bank of England," he added.

When asked what the impact of May's comments would be, El-Erian said: "The remarks are unlikely to have an immediate impact on Bank of England policies. But they are part of a broader warning that is applicable to central bank autonomy around the world." (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)