'Policymakers had to intervene following unprecedented speed and scale to rise in gilt yields'

Before delivering the speech, she told The Yorkshire Post: "We (the Bank of England) have been thinking about the risks in non-bank finance for some time. We had seen it happen during the 'dash for cash' during Covid; there were signs of stress and we had to intervene."

She said there had been an unprecedented speed and scale to the rise in gilt yields following the mini-Budget last Autumn, which meant policymakers had to intervene.

She added: "It was clear by Tuesday evening that we needed to intervene after Friday's mini-Budget. What really motivates you is the recognition that it matters for people all over the country. We had to meet our obligation to deliver a stable financial system. We all felt an enormous responsibility to work for the good of the people. Shocks happen all the time; they are a fact of life but the nature of these shocks can be quite different.

"We have to act in advance of crises happening, so that when they happen they can be absorbed rather than made worse. We stepped in and sorted it (after the mini-Budget). We needed to make sure that it never happens again.”

In her speech, Ms Breeden said, that following the Government’s fiscal announcements on September 23 last year, “we found ourselves facing an acute stress in the gilt market, which had started in a small corner of the pension world”.

She added: “As gilt yields spiked, some liability-driven investment (LDI) funds found themselves over-leveraged and needing to reduce their borrowing. With insufficient time to raise new capital from their pension fund investors, they faced having to sell gilts into a falling market, further depressing prices and increasing the amount they needed to sell.

"To stop this self-reinforcing spiral of asset sales the Bank intervened, buying gilts on financial stability grounds. This targeted action over 13 days stabilised the gilt market and in so doing allowed LDI funds to reduce their leverage to sustainable levels.”

Ms Breeden told The Yorkshire Post that she believes in supporting financial education in schools because "finance and the economy is important in a way that is often not apparent until things go wrong".

She added: "Crypto is a concept that covers many different things. We have been clear for example that bitcoin is a very risky investment and people should be prepared to lose all their money.”

The digital economy has huge potential and there is a need to support the creation of a well regulated system, Ms Breeden added.

"That is happening here in the UK; we are creating a safe place for people to invest in crypto. The financial sector is much more diverse than when I first joined it 30 years ago. Studying economics and finance can lead to a very fulfilling career."

Ms Breeden also visited Feversham Girls Academy, near Bradford, to speak to pupils about her work and the importance of managing risks to financial stability. ​​​​​​​