The Bank of England is not afraid to go further to safeguard the economy as it recovers from Covid-19, according to governor Andrew Bailey.

The former FCA boss has said “there are times when we need to go big and go fast”, Reuters reports from an online conference.

Bailey moved from the top of the financial watchdog to the top of the central bank in March.

His tenure has seen a continuation of interest rate cuts all the way down to 0.1 per cent, as well as bolstering bond-buying by £300bn.

“We are not out of firepower by any means, and to be honest it looks from today’s vantage point that we were too cautious about our remaining firepower pre-Covid,” Bailey reportedly told the conference.

Many analysts are still refusing to rule out a move to negative interest rates from Bailey should it be required, as the Bank’s rhetoric on the issue has softened since predecessor Mark Carney’s time in charge.

But Bailey preferred to focus on future bond-buying at the conference, noting research over its effectiveness during crisis periods in particular.

“In the decade ahead, I think we need to take on board the message the Covid crisis has reiterated, namely that our tools may be state contingent in their effects,” Reuters reports Bailey as saying. “And with that in mind, let’s not ignore the need to manage central bank balance sheets to enable such state contingency to take effect.”