27-605: Edward Alan John George, Baron George (16 September 1938 – 18 April 2009), known as Eddie George , or sometimes as "Steady Eddie", was Governor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 2003 and sat on the board of NM Rothschild and Sons . George was born and grew up in Carshalton , the son of Alan, a Post Office clerk, and his wife Olive. He attended the independent Dulwich College on a scholarship. Having learned to speak Russian at Dulwich, he carried out his National Service at
54-668: A Governor of his former school, Dulwich College , between 1998 and 2008 and as the Chairman of the Governors between 2003 and 2008. On 18 April 2009, George, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer . George married Vanessa George, Lady George ( née Williams) in Surrey in 1962. They had three children. Lady George died in March 2017. George was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of
81-673: A biannual Financial Stability Report. The bank provides wholesale banking services to the UK Government (and to over a hundred overseas central banks). It manages the UK's Exchange Equalisation Account on behalf of HM Treasury and it maintains the government's Consolidated Fund account. It also manages the country's foreign exchange reserves and is custodian of the UK's (and others') gold reserves . The bank also offers 'liquidity support and other services to banks and other financial institutions'. Commercial banks customarily keep
108-586: A privilege for employees. Previously, the bank had maintained private and commercial accounts for all sorts of customers, including individuals, small businesses and public organisations; but a change of policy following the First World War saw the bank increasingly withdraw from this type of business to focus more clearly on its central banking role. During the Nine Years' War , the Royal Navy
135-418: A sizeable proportion of their cash reserves on deposit at the Bank of England. These central bank reserves are used by the banks to settle payments with one another; (for this reason the Bank of England is sometimes called 'the bankers' bank'). In exceptional circumstances, the Bank may act as the lender of last resort by extending credit when no other institution will. As a regulator and central bank,
162-510: A statutory regulator . The bank's headquarters have been in London's main financial district, the City of London , since 1694, and 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 . The bank, among other things, is custodian to
189-413: Is empowered to act in the event of a bank failure 'to protect the UK's vital financial services and financial stability'. Between 1715 and 1998, the Bank of England managed Government Stocks (which formed the bulk of the national debt ): the bank was responsible for issuing stocks to stockholders, paying dividends and maintaining a register of transfers; however in 1998, following the decision to grant
216-760: Is missed the Governor is required to write an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining the situation and proposing remedies. Other than setting the base interest rate, the main tool at the bank's disposal in this regard is quantitative easing . The bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales and regulates the issuance of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Scottish and Northern Irish banks retain
243-671: 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 debt manager, and still one of the bankers for the Government of the United Kingdom , it is the world's eighth-oldest bank . The bank was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946 by
270-556: The Attlee ministry . In 1998 it became an independent public organisation, wholly owned by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the government, with a mandate to support the economic policies of the government of the day, but independence in maintaining price stability. In the 21st century the bank took on increased responsibility for maintaining and monitoring financial stability in the UK, and it increasingly functions as
297-546: The Bank of England . It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Bank of England is also chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee , with a major role in guiding national economic and monetary policy, and is therefore one of the most important public officials in the United Kingdom . According to
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#1732783049312324-687: The Joint Services School for Linguists . He attended and graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge . George joined the Bank of England in 1962. Apart from secondments to Moscow State University , the Bank for International Settlements , and the International Monetary Fund , he remained there throughout his career. After three years as Deputy Governor , he was appointed Governor of the Bank of England to succeed Robin Leigh-Pemberton , who retired on
351-414: The bank rate ), which is decided by the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). (The MPC has devolved responsibility for managing monetary policy ; HM Treasury has reserve powers to give orders to the committee "if they are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances", but Parliament must endorse such orders within 28 days.) As of 2024 the inflation target is 2%; if this target
378-538: 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 2017, Bank staff were entitled to open current accounts directly with the Bank of England and were given the unique sort code of 10-00-00. Under the terms of the Banking Act 2009 the bank is the UK's Resolution Authority for any bank or building society judged ' too big to fail '; as such it
405-642: The British Empire in the 2000 Birthday Honours . He was made a life peer in June 2004 as Baron George , of St Tudy in the County of Cornwall . He was awarded an honorary D.Sc. by the University of Buckingham on 4 March 2000, and appointed a deputy lieutenant of Cornwall in March 2006. Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in
432-626: The Debt Management Office and custodian of its securities . Ever since its foundation in 1694, the bank had provided a retail banking service for the Government; however in 2008 it decided to withdraw from offering these services, which are now provided by a range of other financial institutions and managed by the Government Banking Service . Until 2016, the bank provided personal banking services as
459-621: The English government to borrow the £1.5m that it wanted to use to expand the Royal Navy. In 1691, William Paterson had proposed establishing a national bank as a means of bolstering public finances. As he later wrote in his pamphlet A Brief Account of the Intended Bank of England (1694): "...it was proposed some years ago that a publick transferrable Fund of Interest should be established by Parliament, and made convenient for
486-407: The UK's savers, investors and borrowers against threats to the financial system as a whole. Threats are detected by the bank's surveillance and market intelligence functions, and dealt with through financial and other operations (both at home and abroad). The majority of these safeguards were put in place in after the 2007–2008 financial crisis : In 2011 the bank's Prudential Regulation Authority
513-448: The bank operational independence, responsibility for government debt management was transferred to a new Debt Management Office , which also took over Exchequer cash management and responsibility for issuing Treasury bills from the bank in 2000. Computershare took over as the registrar for UK Government bonds ( gilt-edged securities or 'gilts') from the bank at the end of 2004. The bank, however, continues to act as settlement agent for
540-590: The completion of his second five-year term of office on 30 June 1993. During the early part of George's governance, his successful relationship with then- Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke earned them the nickname 'the Ken and Eddie Show'. Upon the Labour Party coming to power at the 1997 general election , the Bank was given independence in setting UK interest rates by Gordon Brown ,
567-505: The incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. George was succeeded as Governor of the Bank of England in July 2003 by Mervyn King . George attracted controversy in 1998 when he was widely reported to have made a statement to London newspaper executives implying that unemployment in the north of England was a price worth paying to preserve affluence in the south of the country. He later claimed that his remarks had been misconstrued. George served as
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#1732783049312594-408: The official gold reserves of the United Kingdom (and those of around 30 other countries). As of April 2016 , the bank held around 5,134 tonnes (5,659 tons) of gold, worth £141 billion. These estimates suggest that the vault could hold as much as 3% of the 171,300 tonnes of gold mined throughout human history. According to its strapline , the bank's core purpose is 'promoting the good of
621-897: The original charter of 27 July 1694 the bank's affairs would be supervised by a governor, a deputy governor, and 24 directors. In its current incarnation, the bank's Court of Directors has 12 (or up to 14) members, of whom five are various designated executives of the bank. The 121st and current governor is Andrew Bailey , who began his term in March 2020. Bank of England#Court of Directors King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Bank of England
648-412: The people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability'. This is achieved in a variety of ways: Stable prices and secure forms of payment are the two main criteria for monetary stability. Stable prices are maintained by seeking to ensure that price increases meet the Government's inflation target. The bank aims to meet this target by adjusting the base interest rate (known as
675-507: The right to issue their own banknotes, but they must be backed one-for-one with deposits at the bank, excepting a few million pounds representing the value of notes they had in circulation in 1845.) In addition the bank supervises other payment systems , acting as a settlement agent and operating Real-time gross settlement systems including CHAPS . In 2024 the bank was settling around £500 billion worth of payments between banks each day. Maintaining financial stability involves protecting
702-542: Was defeated by the French Navy in the 1690 Battle of Beachy Head , causing consternation in the government of William III of England . The English government decided to rebuild the Royal Navy into a force that was capable of challenging the French on equal terms; however, their ability to do so was hampered both by a lack of available public funds and the government's low credit. This lack of credit made it impossible for
729-536: Was established to regulate and supervise all major banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms in the UK (' microprudential regulation '). The bank also has a statutory supervisory role in relation to financial market infrastructures. At the same time, the bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) was set up to identify and monitor risks in the financial system , and to take appropriate action where necessary (' macroprudential regulation '). The FPC publishes its findings (and actions taken) in
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