Investors have been listening for some time to audio recordings from Bank of England (BoE) press conferences without permission. The central bank of the United Kingdom reports this after the Times revealed the leak. According to that newspaper, speed traders listened in the hope of having more price-sensitive information in advance.

An external information provider has shared the sound recordings with customers without permission, reports the BoE without mentioning names. The leak concerned backup recordings of BoE press conferences, which were kept under control in the event that video broadcasts were dropped.

Comments from central bankers can set financial markets in motion. Speed ​​traders, speculating on very short price increases and decreases, would gain a big advantage over the rest with a lead of a few seconds. According to the BoE, price-sensitive decisions never came out before planned. According to the central bank, the press conferences in question always followed press statements about policy decisions.