here too the ccff has brought benefits. first, cp issuance under the scheme has been at least three times larger than the size of the pre - covid - 19 sterling cp market – and nearly three quarters of ccff firms have set up a cp programme since applying. so the ccff has helped to deepen the cp market, with potentially lasting benefits. and, second, the normalisation of conditions in core markets, coupled with the restart of the mpc ’ s sterling corporate bond purchases on 7 april and similar schemes operated by the ecb and federal reserve, has allowed many larger firms to return to private debt markets, reducing the need of some to draw on schemes like the ccff. indeed, uk firms ’ debt issuance has been running materially ahead of the average in previous years ( chart 11 ). in addition to the ccff, the bank also opened the borrowing window for the new term funding scheme with additional incentives for small and medium sized enterprises ( tfsme ) on 15 april. the tfsme is designed to help bridge the supply of credit to uk firms through the covid - 19 disruption and reinforce the transmission of the mpc ’ s reductions in bank rate. it does this by providing banks with cheap funding over a four - year term ( rising to six years for loans guaranteed under the bbl scheme ). there has already been £12bn of lending from the scheme – a far more rapid pace than the previous tfs ( chart 12 ). all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches chart 11 : uk investment grade bond issuance chart 12 : tfsme and tfs lending compared $ bn loans made through the tfs ( starting september 2016 ) 2016 - 2019 average loans made through the tfsme ( starting april 2020 ) 19 mar : further boe package £ bn jan feb mar apr may source : refinitiv — deals business intelligence and bank calculations. data show uk private non - financial corporate issuance in sterling, euro and us dollar. weeks source : bank of england moment 6 : where there ’ s a means there a way the scale and uncertainty of the economic downturn, combined with the sharp deterioration in financial market conditions in mid - march raised another issue : how to manage the government ’ s cashflow needs, but in markets that at the time seemed to be barely functioning? and that ’ s how, at the height of the crisis, i found myself

home, there are lessons too for us in some of the ways of working that we ’ ve been forced to explore whilst in lockdown. some roles have undoubtedly been made harder : for example those involving the control of operational risk. but it has also forced us to exploit the benefits of technology in ways that many of us would never have dared do voluntarily. it has embedded flexible working in a far deeper way than before. it has brought a new understanding and respect for the challenges many staff have to deal with. it has given us back the many hours spent in mindless or stressful commuting. and, perhaps most profoundly of all, it has been a great leveller. meetings conducted by video - or audio - conference have been more orderly – even if they are also more likely to be interrupted by over - exuberant children or misfiring wifi! ideas and contributions matter more than who is making them, or how they are made. and we ’ ve become more inclusive, allowing us to share material in real time, bringing each other in and virtually raising our hands to talk. i am not sure that many people would have predicted that a global pandemic might end up being the thing that finally really moves the dial on diversity and inclusion. what i can say with some confidence is that it has been a privilege to lead the bank ’ s markets function during this extraordinary period, and i look forward to discussing some of the themes i have outlined here with you further now. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches