Governor Mark Carney said today that the Bank of England could not be expected to nullify the likely hit to the economy from Brexit.
However, Mr Carney said the Bank of England could influence how that hit is spread across Britain.
He made his comments at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Bank of England's independence from government.
Mr Carney said Britain's economic prosperity would hinge on the final arrangements for its divorce with the European Union, as well as the government's fiscal policies.
"Even though monetary policy cannot prevent the weaker real income growth likely to accompany the transition to new trading arrangements with the EU, it can influence how this hit to incomes is distributed between job losses and price rises," he said in the text of his speech.
British prime minister Theresa is due to speak after Carney in a speech in defence of free markets and fiscal prudence.
