Paul Fisher, an executive director and rate-setter at the Bank of England, said last Thursday that the central bank's Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) had been the most "generous liquidity support scheme" seen anywhere in the world, and reiterated that it would not be extended.

"If the SLS were to be extended, that would mean an implicit subsidy for specific banks. Albeit for a fee, those banks would be funding on an ongoing basis their illiquid, risky assets, by borrowing at ‘risk-free'