LONDON: MPs on Friday said the Bank of England’s needed to be “more concerned” after it emerged that as much as £50 billion ($67.4bn) in cash was unaccounted for.

The money is “stashed somewhere but the Bank of England doesn’t know where, who by or what for — and doesn’t seem very curious”, Meg Hillier, chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which oversees government finances, said in a statement.

“It needs to be more concerned about where the missing £50bn is,” she added.

Cash withdrawals have increased in Britain since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a September report by the National Audit Office (NAO), even though cash purchases have fallen considerably.

It is not known where the excess cash, estimated to be £50bn, is residing.

The central bank responded in a statement that “members of the public do not have to explain to the bank why they wish to hold banknotes.

“This means that banknotes are not missing,” it added.

The Bank of England estimates that between 20 per cent and 24pc of the value of notes in circulation are used for cash transactions, with a further five percent held as savings.

“Little is known about the remainder... but possible explanations include holdings overseas for transactions or savings and possibly holdings in the UK of unreported domestic savings or for use in the shadow economy,” said the NAO report.

Hillier warned that the whereabouts of the money “could have material implications for public policy and the public purse”.

The central bank has highlighted since the start of the pandemic the paradox of increased money in circulation despite a decrease in its use.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2020