Bank of England's Bailey calls on policymakers to challenge the populists

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said financial policymakers had to push back against attempts by populist politicians to discredit them.

In remarks published on Friday, Bailey said populism made it harder for global agencies - such as the International Monetary Fund - to spell out risks in the world economy.

"Part of the purpose of international agencies is that from time to time they have to tell us what we don't want to hear, let alone act upon," Bailey said in the text of a speech he made at a closed-door meeting of the Bellagio Group of economists, central bankers and finance officials on Tuesday.

"Of course, they have to be accountable for the accuracy and quality of the assessment. But, accepting that, we have to call out messenger shooting."

He said attempts had been made to encourage a decline in trust of "domestic and international" organisations to make them appear "distant, unresponsive and acting for the benefit of powerful and uncontrollable interests".

Bailey, who has previously warned of the dangers of thwarting the IMF's role in flagging the buildup of imbalances in the world economy, did not identify any politicians or countries in his speech.

The IMF last year criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's big tax cuts and it supports open international trade. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused the Fund of straying too far from its core missions, for example by looking at the impact of climate change.

In his speech, Bailey said now was not the time to close the world to the benefits of trade. He also said the importance of rules to make the global finance industry safe was not as widely accepted as it should be.

Earlier this week, Bailey signed a statement along with other top central bankers backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after the U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal investigation over cost overruns for renovation work at the Fed's headquarters complex.