The Bank of England/NMG Survey of household finances

Each year, the Bank of England commissions NMG Consulting to carry out an online survey of households’ finances. This seminar will describe the NMG Survey, its methodology and its advantages and disadvantages relative to other surveys. The survey is useful in providing a timelier guide to developments in the distribution of household balance sheets than other surveys, although there may be a greater risk of selection into the survey based on unobservable characteristics. It is used as a tool to monitor risks from households’ balance sheets and to investigate topical policy issues such as the implications of higher interest rates, the impact of fiscal tightening, responses to unexpected changes in income and holdings of buy-to-let investments.