bank of england

Bank of England
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Bank of England

The Bank of England

Headquarters Threadneedle Street,
London EC3
Coordinates 51°30′51″N 0°05′19″W / 51.5141°N 0.0886°W / 51.5141; -0.0886Coordinates: 51°30′51″N 0°05′19″W / 51.5141°N 0.0886°W / 51.5141; -0.0886
Established 27 July 1694
Governor Mervyn King
Central Bank of United Kingdom
Currency Pound sterling
ISO 4217 Code GBP
Base borrowing rate 0.5% [1]
Website http://www.bankofengland.co.uk
Succeeded by Currency Commission (Republic of Ireland only)
The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is the central bank of the United Kingdom and is the model on which most modern, large central banks have been based. Since 1946 it has been a state-owned institution.[2] It was established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for the UK Government. The Bank has a monopoly[3] on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, although not in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has been given devolved responsibility (sometimes called independence) for managing the monetary policy of the country. 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 [4]

The Bank's headquarters has been located in London's main financial district, the City of London, on Threadneedle Street, since 1734. It is sometimes known by the metonym The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or simply The Old Lady. The current Governor of the Bank of England is Mervyn King, who took over on 30 June 2003 from Sir Edward George. As well as the London offices, the Bank of England also has secondary offices on King Street in Leeds.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Functions of the Bank
3 Banknote issues
4 See also
5 References
6 External links