there was indeed some more slack in the labour market. that left me more comfortable with the balance of risks around the mpc ’ s central assumptions than i had been previously. at the same time, by the february inflation report, annual wage growth in the data had picked up materially relative to what we had been expecting at the november meeting. in november the most recent observation for whole economy regular pay had been of just 2. 1 % growth ( in august ). and we were forecasting it to only pick up very slightly over the next six months. but by the february report it had picked up to 2. 4 % growth ( in november ) and we were forecasting a further pick - up to 2. 8 % over the next few months. that was corroborated by our agents ’ pay survey which was pointing to a ½ percentage point increase in settlements this year, from around 2½ % to around 3 %, with the ability to recruit and retain staff the number one factor driving growth. since february the picture has remained the same. wages did indeed pick up to 2. 8 % by the may inflation report. and the very latest observation, of 2. 9 % regular pay growth in march, was slightly higher than our expectation even in may. wage growth has now been rising steadily over the past six months, and unit labour costs have been rising towards growth rates consistent with overall inflation at target. the period of unusually subdued growth in wages appears to be coming to an end. the year so far that brings me to the third unusual situation that that we have had to contend with – developments in the economy so far this year, and how the mpc have responded to them – most recently at our may policy meeting. at the time of the february report we judged that the trade - off between managing slack and controlling inflation was much diminished. we went so far as to say that “ were the economy to evolve broadly in line with the february inflation report projections, monetary policy would need to be tightened somewhat see : ramsden, d ( 2017 ), “ monetary policy from end to end : define, decide, deliver ”, speech at king ’ s college london, 20 november 2017. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches earlier and by a somewhat greater extent over the forecast period than anticipated at the time of the november report ”. given that, why didn ’ t we vote in may to raise bank rate? the key

when the going is good. we can ’ t force them to use those buffers when the going is bad, even if the rules are relaxed. taking away the stick isn ’ t the same as offering a carrot. vegetable metaphors are not always welcomed but i think it ’ s acceptable to suggest that the fls may be seen as a carrot! and the fpc recommendations are perhaps a first example of macro prudential policy being used in a co - ordinated way ( with central bank actions ) to support the resilience of the uk financial system, by being counter - cyclical in approach. this ability to co - ordinate may also demonstrate the benefits of some shared membership across the fpc and mpc. bis central bankers ’ speeches i want to turn now to the funding for lending scheme in the context of our announcements this morning of the first banks and building societies to have signed up and their stock of sterling lending to uk firms and households at end - june 2012 ( table 1 ) that will be used as a reference point. together these banks account for around 73 % of the stock of lending to uk households and corporates. i should also note that a significant number of other institutions are close to signing up too and we will update this table in due course. in addition, we will publish the first set of drawdown data in december, although you will have seen that one bank has already announced that it has drawn £1bn and plans to draw more. that said, it will probably take some time for banks to review fully their lending plans, and it is likely that drawings from the fls will be spread out over the full window to end - 2013. table 1 fls data the table below includes all participating groups that had signed up to the scheme and certified their base stock of loans by 24 / 09 / 2012 fls group certified lending to uk households and pnfcs aggregate outstanding fls ( £mn ) drawings ( £mn ) base stock of loans as at 30 / 06 / 12 quarterly net lending flow cumulative net lending since 30 / 06 / 2012 1, 211, 736 n / a n / a n / a aldermore 1, 567 n / a n / a n / a barclays 181, 020 n / a n / a n / a hinckley & rugby building society n / a n / a n / a ipswich building society n / a n / a n / a kleinwo