Risk of a no deal Brexit isn’t rising, says Bank of England’s newest policymaker Elisabeth Stheeman

The Bank of England’s newest policy maker said today that the risk of a “no deal” Brexit was not rising.

Elisabeth Stheeman, now an external member of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC), appeared in front of the Treasury select committee today, and said that leaving the EU without a deal would damage both the UK and its European partners.

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Asked about the likelihood of a no deal Brexit, Stheeman said: “I would hope it’s not more likely. I would hope there’s a way to find some common ground and people would realise how important it is in terms of agreement, to try to find the right outcome.

“My personal opinion is that I would hope it’s not more likely.”

She added that the FPC should also be focusing on high asset valuations in the commercial property sector. Commercial real estate prices are 13 per cent below their 2007 peak in Britain as a whole, but remain 22 per cent above that level in the centre of London, she said.

“To me that was really a wake-up call, in a sense they are very fully valued, to say the least,” she said.