Bank of England’s Mark Carney faces a grilling over Brexit

Mark Carney’s scope to sidestep the Brexit question is dwindling. With a referendum on Britain’s EU membership looming, the Bank of England governor has spent months trying to skirt the highly charged debate.

An appearance before lawmakers this week may throw him right in, as happened in the build-up to the Scottish independence vote when his comments were hijacked by campaigners from both sides.

The stakes are high, with Goldman Sachs and BlackRock among those warning the vote puts trade, hiring and investment at risk and many economists saying the full implications of an exit are almost impossible to quantify.

While Mr Carney has said there’s little evidence of an economic impact so far, some surveys are signalling the uncertainty is already having a detrimental effect.

“The governor will simply have to give a view,” said Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec Securities in London.

Mr Carney and deputy governor Jon Cunliffe will testify at Parliament’s treasury committee later today on the economic and financial costs and benefits of EU membership.

In a report in October, the central bank considered the impact of membership on its mandate, but didn’t give a detailed assessment of merits or implications of an exit.

Last month, prime minister David Cameron hinted he wants to see the bank go further with its analysis.