On Thursday, the Bank of England said that it would sell around 8.7 billion pounds of government bonds in the fourth and final quarter of 2022. With this, it would become the first major central bank to initiate active sales.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to lower its 838 billion pounds of gilt holdings by about 80 billion pounds over the coming year. This is broadly in line with the plans announced last month.

The said reduction would come through a mixture of maturing gilts and gilt auctions. There are likely to be 15 auctions from October to the end of the year with a planned size of 580 million pounds each for gilts across a range of maturities.

Established in 1694, it is the central bank of the United Kingdom. It is said to be the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Headquartered in London, it is the world’s eighth-oldest bank.