Mervyn King is not without flaws, but he is passing on a robust Bank He characterises his time as a game of two halves - the first a period of extraordinary calm when everyone came to expect constant growth and low inflation. It seemed that the UK had finally exorcised the economic policy errors of the past. But the Bank grew complacent, and ignored the credit cycle. This might be understandable in a politician, but for central bankers to forget the lessons of history in this way was undoubtedly a failing of the first order. Sir Mervyn is also accused of not properly grasping the scale of the banking crisis in its early months and a consequent slow response that made things worse than they needed to be. Nor will he ever be forgiven by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling for apparently siding with the Conservative opposition on the economy in the run-up to the 2010 election. All that said, the Bank's monetary response to the crisis was eventually extraordinarily bold, with a whole swathe of unconventional policies applied to the problem. Over the past four years, the Bank has expanded its balance sheet more than any other central bank, and thereby arguably helped stave off a much worse economic contraction. The jury is still out on what the long-term consequences of all this money printing might be, but Sir Mervyn has been nothing if not adventurous, often at considerable risk to the Bank's jealously guarded credibility. Politically, the Governor has also cleverly positioned himself as on the side of the little guy against the vested interest of the big, bad bankers. His contempt for bankers, by the way, is genuinely felt, so there was no need for pretence. Conveniently, it helped deflect blame from the Bank and cement its position as a kind of "people's champion." But perhaps Sir Mervyn's greatest legacy is the institution itself. Sir Mervyn's key role in modernising the Bank, preparing it for independence and establishing the inflation targeting regime cannot be overstated. Most remarkable of all, the Bank has emerged from the crisis not battered and bowed as you might expect, but more powerful and influential than ever. Judged in terms of institutional survival and enhancement, Sir Mervyn could hardly have done a better job.