By Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada said on Wednesday it would begin publishing a summary of its monetary policy deliberations starting next year, accepting a key recommendation from a transparency review by the International Monetary Fund.
The “Summary of Deliberations,” similar to meeting minutes released by other central banks, will be published roughly two weeks after each interest rate decision, starting with the Jan. 25 meeting, Canada’s central bank said.
“We do expect it to provide a high-level summary of the issues discussed by Governing Council, as well as insight into the key points of focus in their deliberations on economic developments and the risks,” said Managing Director of Communications Jeremy Harrison.
“Given our consensus-based decision-making system, the summary won’t provide attribution to individual Council members, nor will it record votes because there are no votes in our system,” Harrison added.
The Bank of Canada has come under a rare attack from critics over its response to the pandemic, including misjudging inflation, which led to renewed calls for it to release minutes and be more transparent on its decision-making process.
The decision to release summaries comes as worries mount that the pace of rate increases – the central bank has lifted its policy rate by 300 basis points in six months – could lead to a recession.
The IMF released its 98-page report on Wednesday, which followed a voluntary review with the Bank of Canada. The report included 10 recommendations, including that the bank publish summaries of its rate decisions and provide more transparency on its “bilateral collaborations” with government.
The IMF also recommended that the bank enhance its disclosures in the case of intervention in the foreign exchange markets. The Bank of Canada said providing more information was not a “priority,” in part because the bank has not intervened on the foreign exchange markets since 1998.
(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; editing by Steve Scherer and Jonathan Oatis)
