Bank of England names lead managers for US dollar bond offer

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of England on Monday named Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, Merrill Lynch International and J.P. Morgan Securities as joint lead managers for a bond sale to finance the central bank's foreign exchange reserves.

The BoE said it would issue a benchmark, five-year U.S. dollar bond, to be offered in the near future, subject to market conditions.

In September, the BoE said it planned to hold two benchmark bond sales a year, rather than one which has been its practice for the past two decades, and the programme would increase gradually over several years.