BoE's King warns of growing currency competition

The euro zone debt crisis, high inflation and fiscal austerity have weighed heavily on the economic recovery.

The address may be one of King's last in the United States. Mark Carney, currently the head of Canada's central bank, is set to be the first non-Briton to lead the BoE next summer. King recalled the day his wife saw the surprising news that Carney was named to the post. "She said, 'You know Mervyn, they'll miss you, or six months down the road they'll miss you,'" King told the audience. "And then she looked at the TV screen and said: 'He's very young, he's very good looking, he's immensely charming and he's very charismatic.' I think he'll do a great job and they won't miss me at all."