Monetary Policy Committee member Paul Fisher believes conflict between the MPC and the Financial Policy Committee is unlikely.

Speaking to the University of Warwick, London Alumni Group last night (12 March), Mr Fisher spoke about the development of the Financial Policy Committee.

He disagreed with questions raised by the Treasury Committee over conflict and said past economic literature showed this should not be a problem.

But in order to ensure there is not conflict, he said, the FPC would need very specific objectives which did not conflict with the objectives of the MPC.

It would also need to set policy at different times and make sure the MPC could take any FPC actions into account.

He said: “A founding result from that literature is that to hit two distinct objectives, policymakers need at least two instruments that are sufficiently independent (ie. their impact on the two objectives have to be different.

“A second result is that separate policy committees, each with single clear responsibility, should be able to achieve their different objectives as long as it is clear who sets which instrument. Each have control of the instrument which has comparative advantage in favour of their own objectives.”

The Financial Policy Committee is being set up at the Bank of England as part of the new tri-partite regulatory system being introduced in 2013.

It will help protect and enhance financial stability and the resilience of the UK financial system, through identifying and reducing systemic risks.