Bank of England's Breeden says gilts held for monetary policy should go to zero

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - ​Bank ⁠of England ​Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said on Wednesday ​that ‌she wanted to reduce to ⁠zero the amount ⁠of British ​government bonds held by the central bank as part of its ​monetary ‌policy programme.

"I do want to take the portfolio ... for monetary ​policy purposes down to zero because ‌I want to make sure that we ‌have the headroom to be able to use it again ​should it ever be necessary, rather than ‌it being a forever ratchet upwards," Breeden told lawmakers on ⁠parliament's ⁠Treasury Committee.

She said ‌the BoE also had to ​have ​an eye on ‌the functioning of the gilt market. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)