UK lawmakers voice worry over Bank of England's lack of diversity

LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers on Friday voiced concern about a lack of gender and ethnic diversity at the top levels of the Bank of England, which currently has only two women serving across its three major policy committees.

Earlier this week BoE Governor Mark Carney said the lack of women in senior positions was "an issue" for the Bank and that it had taken extensive action to correct this.

However, it is the finance ministry that appoints people to the BoE's monetary, financial and prudential regulation policy committees.

"The Treasury must make all efforts to encourage as diverse range of candidates for the Bank's policy committees as possible," said lawmaker Nicky Morgan, chair of parliament's Treasury Committee.

She added that the finance ministry has been asked to confirm that its recruitment processes fit with a remit of achieving greater diversity of public appointments, including from ethnic minorities.

Silvana Tenreyro of the Monetary Policy Committee and Sandy Boss of the Prudential Regulation Committee are the only women among the 23 individuals serving on the BoE's main policy panels.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Alison Williams)