Welcome to the This Is The North Podcast, your source of transformative conversations. An intentional challenge to the systems holding back the North of England. Hosted by Alison Dunn.
In this episode, Alison is joined by Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England and member of the Monetary Policy Committee. Sarah grew up in Stockport, went to the local comprehensive, and has spent the last 34 years at the Bank. She describes her childhood as \"bog standard, northern, normal\", and her journey from putting parsley on airline meals at Manchester Airport to becoming one of six people in the Bank's senior leadership team.
Sarah reflects on the work ethic instilled by her parents, both local government workers, and the commitment to public service that has driven her career: \"Not for money. Because it makes a difference.\" She describes what it was like to be on the phone to Northern Rock directors as the queues formed outside, the reforms that followed the financial crisis, and why a resilient banking system matters not for the banks themselves but for the businesses and households that depend on them.
As a member of the MPC, Sarah explains how interest rate decisions are made, not based on where inflation is today, but where it will be in two years, and why the Bank spends weeks each year visiting businesses around the country, from Cardiff to Newcastle, gathering on-the-ground intelligence on sales, wages, hiring and prices. The MPC announces its latest decision on Thursday and Sarah is one of the people making it. She discusses why food inflation hits harder than any other kind, how global commodity shocks, wage costs and packaging regulations are driving prices up, and why deflation (not just inflation) is something western economies guard against.
The conversation turns to economic literacy and who gets access to it. Sarah describes citizens' panels where, after a single conversation about how the economy works, one woman said: \"If I'd known that, that would've affected my vote.\" With only 1% of economics degree students coming from the North East, Sarah makes the case for the Bank's expansion into Leeds and its regional presence in Newcastle, not just to access talent, but to hear the voices that should be shaping policy.
Sarah also discusses the progression of women in the Bank's leadership, having founded its women's network in 2007 and co-chaired it for eight years. The senior team is now 50/50, but she is candid that the layer below is not bringing women through at the rate she had hoped. The episode also covers digital money and stablecoins versus Bitcoin, and why cyber risk is now the thing that keeps her most awake at night.
Timestamps:
00:00 Why stability matters
01:20 Stockport roots and a \"bog standard\" childhood
03:47 Finding economics
05:17 Airline meals, pubs, and the Protestant work ethic
07:06 Joining the Bank of England
10:50 Fixing the system after the financial crisis
13:20 How interest rates are set
15:43 What businesses are saying now
18:08 A small open economy in a volatile world
19:24 Four pints of milk: food prices explained
23:45 \"If I'd known that, it would've affected my vote\"
26:59 Women in economics and the Bank's leadership
31:24 Digital money demystified
35:58 Cyber risk rising
37:50 Building the Bank beyond London
39:50 What still drives her after 34 years
This conversation is a reminder that the decisions made at the Bank of England affect every household in the country, and that who understands economics, who gets taught it, and who is in the room when those decisions are made are not separate questions. Sarah Breeden is proof that a girl from a Stockport comprehensive can end up setting interest rates. The question is why, given the pipeline, she still largely remains an outlier.
Host: Alison Dunn
Guest: Sarah Breeden
This podcast is produced by Purpose Made.
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