Bank May Inflation Report news conference

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England delivered its quarterly inflation and growth forecasts on Wednesday. Below are highlights from a news conference given by Governor Mervyn King.

To see the Inflation Report please click on:

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BOE GOVERNOR MERVYN KING

DIFFERENCES WITH NINETIES

"It is worth hanging onto the fact that when families get into difficulty, the question is what will affect their ability to service the mortgage debt.

"What caused major problems in the early 1990s was the doubling of interest rates and a very sharp increase in unemployment.

"Those two things created serious difficulties for many families in being able to service debt. But neither of those things apply at present nor are they part of our central projection. They don't look very likely outcomes.

"That should make it much more likely that the large numbers of people finding themselves in a position where it is difficult or impossible to service their mortgage debt will remain markedly lower than in the past.