BoE MMC minutes flag smooth markets, RTGS and CHAPS hours plan

• Money markets were described as functioning smoothly, with stable funding conditions and ample liquidity.
• Members backed the direction of plans to extend RTGS and CHAPS settlement hours.
• The committee also discussed repo facilities, leverage ratio proposals and the MiniCREST contingency arrangement.

Action

The Bank of England’s Money Market Committee met on 25 September 2026 in London. Members discussed market conditions, RTGS and CHAPS settlement hours, leverage ratio proposals and other sterling money market items.

BoE MMC minutes flag smooth markets, RTGS and CHAPS hours plan

Respondents

The minutes record comments from committee members, Bank staff and the Chair. The meeting was held at the Bank of England, 20 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6DA.

Effective

Bank staff updated members on plans to extend RTGS and CHAPS settlement hours. Feedback to the May 2026 Consultation Paper was broadly supportive, with respondents generally favouring an extension of existing operating days before adding further operating days.

Members also said work would continue with industry to better understand issues around value-date rollover and to provide further clarity as the programme develops.

Penalty

No penalty was announced.

Members said money markets continued to function smoothly. Funding conditions remained stable, even during recent increased bond market volatility, and liquidity was described as ample with limited signs of stress.

They also reported stable cross-currency funding conditions despite recent geopolitical developments and broader market volatility. Quarter-end and year-end conditions were expected to remain orderly.

Members noted emerging funding pressures further out the euro curve as Eurosystem liquidity continued to decline. They also discussed increased issuance activity and growing use of European Commercial Paper funding channels.

On leverage ratio proposals, members generally welcomed the direction of travel. They said leverage requirements are only one of several constraints on activity, alongside stress-testing assumptions, investor expectations and risk-weighted capital requirements.

Members said increasing competition for retail and corporate deposits had not materially affected funding plans. Some added that sustained competition could increase wholesale funding requirements and funding costs over time.

The committee also noted strong trading activity across gilt and international markets, with no material change in cleared repo conditions. Members welcomed the predictability provided by the MPC and the Bank’s recent balance sheet announcements.

In other business, the Chair noted ongoing industry engagement on Euroclear UK & International’s proposed MiniCREST contingency arrangement for an extreme but plausible cyber-attack scenario. The Sterling Money Markets Code Sub-Committee is preparing the next update to the Code, with publication planned for 2027.

Members were also informed of a report by the Association of Corporate Treasurers on promoting the UK as a location for corporate treasury centres.