Bank of England and UK competition regulator agree to work together

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said on Tuesday it agreed a memorandum of understanding with the Bank of England, to enable them to work together to help the economy, businesses and consumers.

The pair said they had established a framework for co-operation and collaboration so they could liaise in matters of common interest, and better fulfil their functions of monetary policy and financial stability for the BoE, and promoting competition for the CMA.

"The CMA and the Bank of England have, for the first time, agreed a memorandum of understanding on how the two organisations will work together to deliver better outcomes for the UK economy, businesses and consumers," the CMA said.

Co-operation may take place on policy proposals and developments, or areas of concern, as well as information which could be relevant to the functions of the other party.

Any sharing of information would be subject to legal restrictions, the memorandum said, adding that the pair may also agree to carry out join projects.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, writing by Sarah Young; editing by David Milliken and Paul Sandle)