BoE Bank Liabilities Survey Q3'26: Lenders reported that total funding volumes increased in the three months

The Bank Liabilities Survey is a quarterly gauge of bank funding conditions, and rising total funding volumes is the headline that has historically mattered less than the composition beneath it. In past readings of this kind, the distinction worth drawing is between wholesale and retail: a pickup driven by deposits has tended to signal stable funding, while increased reliance on wholesale issuance has typically come with a cost-of-funds question attached. The survey's companion detail on spreads and funding costs is where the gilt and front-end read-through usually sits, since cheaper and more abundant bank funding has, in previous episodes, shown up as easier credit conditions in the companion credit survey and softer pass-through into lending rates. Responses from the major UK lenders have tended to be consistent enough that single-quarter moves are treated cautiously; sustained shifts across two or three prints have been the more reliable tell. Worth watching is the accompanying detail on funding-cost expectations and any linkage to the credit conditions series, which together frame the Bank's read on how policy is transmitting through the banking system. As a survey rather than a rate decision, the signal is incremental rather than directional.