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The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of the United Kingdom, it is the world's eighth-oldest bank. It was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946 by the Attlee ministry.
In 2009, a request made to HM Treasury under the Freedom of Information Act sought details about the 3% Bank of England stock owned by unnamed shareholders whose identity the Bank is not at liberty to disclose. In a letter of reply dated 15 October 2009, HM Treasury explained that. 'Some of the 3% Treasury stock which was used to compensate former owners of Bank stock has not been redeemed. However, interest is paid out twice a year and it is not the case that this has been accumulating and compounding.'
The Bank became an independent public organisation in 1998, wholly owned by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the government, but with independence in setting monetary policy.
The Bank is one of eight banks authorised to issue banknotes in the United Kingdom, has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales and regulates the issue of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has a devolved responsibility for managing monetary policy. The Treasury has reserve powers to give orders to the committee "if they are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances", but such orders must be endorsed by Parliament within 28 days. The Bank's Financial Policy Committee held its first meeting in June 2011 as a macroprudential regulator to oversee regulation of the UK's financial sector.
The Bank's headquarters have been in London's main financial district, the City of London, on Threadneedle Street, since 1734. It is sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, a name taken from a satirical cartoon by James Gillray in 1797. The road junction outside is known as Bank junction.
As a regulator and central bank, the Bank of England has not offered consumer banking services for many years, but it still does manage some public-facing services such as exchanging superseded bank notes. Until 2016, the bank provided personal banking services as a privilege for employees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England
Governors
- Sir John Houblon 1694–1697
- Sir William Scawen 1697–1699
- Nathaniel Tench 1699–1701
- John Ward 1701–1703
- Abraham Houblon 1703–1705
- Sir James Bateman 1705–1707
- Francis Eyles 1707–1709
- Sir Gilbert Heathcote 1709–1711
- Nathaniel Gould 1711–1713
- John Rudge 1713–1715
- Sir Peter Delmé 1715–1717
- Sir Gerard Conyers 1717–1719
- John Hanger 1719–1721
- Sir Thomas Scawen 1721–1723
- Sir Gilbert Heathcote 1723–1725
- William Thompson 1725–1727
- Humphry Morice 1727–1729
- Samuel Holden 1729–1731
- Sir Edward Bellamy 1731–1733
- Horatio Townshend 1733–1735
- Bryan Benson 1735–1737
- Thomas Cooke 1737–1740
- Delillers Carbonnel 1740–1741
- Stamp Brooksbank 1741–1743
- William Fawkener 1743–1745
- Charles Savage 1745–1747
- Benjamin Longuet 1747–1749
- William Hunt 1749–1752
- Alexander Sheafe 1752–1754
- Charles Palmer 1754–1756
- Matthews Beachcroft 1756–1758
- Merrick Burrell 1758–1760
- Bartholomew Burton 1760–1762
- Robert Marsh 1762–1764
- John Weyland 1764–1766
- Matthew Clarmont 1766–1769
- William Cooper 1769–1771
- Edward Payne 1771–1773
- James Sperling 1773–1775
- Samuel Beachcroft 1775–1777
- Peter Gaussen 1777–1779
- Daniel Booth 1779–1781
- William Ewer 1781–1783
- Richard Neave 1783–1785
- George Peters 1785–1787
- Edward Darell 1787–1789
- Mark Weyland 1789–1791
- Samuel Bosanquet 1791–1793
- Godfrey Thornton 1793–1795
- Daniel Giles 1795–1797
- Thomas Raikes 1797–1799
- Samuel Thornton 1799–1801
- Job Mathew Raikes 1801–1802
- Joseph Nutt 1802–1804
- Benjamin Winthrop 1804–1806
- Beeston Long 1806–1808
- John Whitmore 1808–1810
- John Pearse 1810–1812
- William Manning 1812–1814
- William Mellish 1814–1816
- Jeremiah Harman 1816–1818
- George Dorrien 1818–1820
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Pole 1820–1822
- John Bowden 1822–1824
- Cornelius Buller 1824–1826
- John Baker Richards 1826–1828
- Samuel Drewe 1828–1830
- John Horsley Palmer 1830–1833
- Richard Mee Raikes 1833–1834
- James Pattison 1834–1837
- Timothy Abraham Curtis 1837–1839
- Sir John Reid 1839–1841
- Sir John Pelly 1841–1842
- William Cotton 1842–1845
- John Benjamin Heath 1845–1847
- William Robinson April–August 1847
- James Morris 1847–1849
- Henry James Prescot 1849–1851
- Thomson Hankey 1851–1853
- John Hubbard 1853–1855
- Thomas Matthias Weguelin 1855–1857
- Sheffield Neave 1857–1859
- Bonamy Dobrée 1859–1861
- Alfred Latham 1861–1863
- Kirkman Hodgson 1863–1865
- Henry Lancelot Holland 1865–1867
- Thomas Newman Hunt 1867–1869
- Robert Wigram Crawford 1869–1871
- George Lyall 1871–1873
- Benjamin Buck Greene 1873–1875
- Hucks Gibbs 1875–1877
- Edward Howley Palmer 1877–1879
- John William Birch 1879–1881
- Henry Grenfell 1881–1883
- John Saunders Gilliat 1883–1885
- James Pattison Currie 1885–1887
- Mark Collet 1887–1889
- William Lidderdale 1889–1892
- David Powell 1892–1895
- Albert George Sandeman 1895–1897
- Hugh Colin Smith 1897–1899
- Samuel Steuart Gladstone 1899–1901
- Sir Augustus Prevost 1901–1903
- Samuel Morley 1903–1905
- Alexander Falconer Wallace 1905–1907
- William Middleton Campbell 1907–1909
- Reginald Eden Johnston 1909–1911
- Alfred Clayton Cole 1911–1913
- Walter Cunliffe 1913–1918
- Brien Cokayne 1918–1920
- Montagu Norman 1920–1944
- Thomas Catto 1944–1949
- Cameron Cobbold 1949–1961
- Rowland Baring (3rd Earl of Cromer) 1961–1966
- Sir Leslie O'Brien 1966–1973
- Gordon Richardson 1973–1983
- Robert Leigh-Pemberton 1983–1993
- Sir Edward George 1993–2003
- Sir Mervyn King 2003–2013
- Mark Carney 2013–2020
- Andrew Bailey 2020–present
Directors
- John Baring 1983–1991