Quantitative easing (QE) is the practice of a banking regulator purchasing government securities or bonds directly from the open market, for various reasons. UK's Bank of England (BOE) was forced to step in recently in bond markets to rescue pension funds facing margin calls after the country's currency GBP sharply depreciated and bond yields rose up to 100 basis points (bps), the highest since last 30-years. Citing potential risks to UK's financial stability, the BoE also said it would delay the start of a programme to sell down its 838 billion pounds ($891 billion) of government bond holdings, which had been due to begin next week, media reports say.