Bank of England hires consultants for strategic review

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has hired external consultants to review its resources and priorities, pressing on with a modernisation drive under recently appointed governor Mark Carney.

The 319-year-old central bank said on Tuesday it had hired McKinsey to advise on a strategic review and Deloitte to advise on potential cost savings. Both reviews are expected to be concluded next year.

The 48-year-old Canadian became the first foreigner to head Britain's central bank earlier this year, succeeding Mervyn King who had been at the bank for 20 years.

Unlike King, whose background was in academia, Carney spent more than a decade at investment bank Goldman Sachs before joining the Bank of Canada as deputy governor in 2003. He was made governor of the Bank of Canada in 2008, becoming the youngest central bank governor among the G8 and G20 group of nations.

Carney has made no secret of his desire to reform the Bank of England, an institution steeped in tradition where visitors are greeted by doormen in top hats and pink tailcoats.

The bank was given sweeping regulatory powers following an overhaul of Britain's supervisory structure in the wake of the financial crisis, but its transformation has not been easy.

The cost of integrating parts of the now defunct Financial Services Authority into the bank earlier this year was above budget and there have been issues reconciling salaries between former FSA staff and those who were already at the central bank.

"The results of this review will guide our strategic investment decisions, working methods, and allocation of time and resources across our capabilities," said a BoE spokesman.

The value-for-money review will focus on the efficiency of the bank's support division, potentially streamlining operations such as information technology and human resources.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher; Editing by John Stonestreet)