What austerity? Sir Mervyn King leaves Bank of England with THREE leaving parties, a £597 silver napkin ring and a huge £10,000 portrait of himself

• Governor retires with presents and parties costing nearly £25,000
• Gifts included portrait, napkin ring and £2,505 bust of German politician

The Bank of England spent nearly £25,000 on leaving gifts and parties to mark the retirement of former governor Mervyn King.
Lord King finished his ten-year stewardship of the Bank last month, handing over to Canadian Mark Carney.
He was showered with gifts worth £13,000 and treated to farewell events costing more than £10,000.

Gift: Sir Mervyn King was given a copy of this portrait by Diana Blakeney as part of his farewell from the Bank of England

The most expensive gift was a £10,000 bespoke copy of his portrait, a traditional leaving present for governors, by artist Diana Blakeney. The original will hang at the Bank, alongside portraits of the men who have held the position since the first governor in 1694.
He was also presented with a £597 silver napkin ring, a replica of those used in the directors’ dining room and another traditional parting gift. Lord King also took home a more personal gift, a bust of German literary giant and politician Johann von Goethe, worth £2,505.

 

The Bank also laid on three events – an evening reception costing £4,672 and two dinners costing £3,450 and £3,800. Included in the events cost was £1,501 for flowers and invitations. It took the final bill to £24,922 – just below the national average wage of £26,000. The total, revealed in a Freedom of Information request, was paid by the Bank of England.

Fond farewell: Sir Mervyn King left the Bank of England with a portrait of himself, a silver napkin ring and a bust of German politician Johann von Goethe

Largesse: Critics said the revelations reveal the apparent culture of extravagance at the Bank, which has preached the virtues of austerity

Successor: Canadian Mark Carney took over as governor in July

Lord King, 65, who earned a £300,000 salary, will enjoy a pension from the Bank believed to be worth more than £200,000 a year.
The Bank, which is owned by the Treasury, is not directly funded by taxpayers, instead raising cash from a variety of sources including the financial sector.
The main source is known as the ‘cash ratio deposit’, under which lenders deposit cash interest-free.
The Bank then ploughs this into investments that pay interest, and keeps the difference for itself.
But the Government’s 39 per cent stake in Lloyds and 81 per cent in Royal Bank of Scotland mean the governor’s gifts were technically funded in part by the State.
Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘These extravagant leaving gifts are in stark contrast to the situation faced by millions struggling with the cost of living thanks to stubborn levels of inflation overseen by Mervyn King.
‘Taxpayers and savers continue to pay for Bank of England policy so they will find it particularly egregious they are also paying so much for the governor’s goodbyes.’
Lord King’s predecessor Eddie George, who died in 2009, was given some furniture when he left, although a spokesman could not remember what it was.