Bank of England: Difference between revisions

| headquarters = [[Threadneedle Street]], [[London]], England, United Kingdom

| borrowing_rate = 5.25%<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate |title=Interest rates and Bank Rate |website=www.bankofengland.co.uk|date=14 December 2023 }}</ref>

The Bankbank was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946 by the [[Attlee ministry]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Commons Debate 29th October 1945, Second Reading of the Bank of England Bill |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1945/oct/29/bank-of-england-bill |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405021816/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1945/oct/29/bank-of-england-bill |archive-date=5 April 2016 |access-date=12 October 2012 |date=29 October 1945 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]}}; {{Cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/1998/q2/the-bank-of-england-act |title=Bank of England Act 1946 |date=June 1998 |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726143148/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/1998/q2/the-bank-of-england-act |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998 it became an independent public organisation, wholly owned by the [[Treasury Solicitor]] on behalf of the government,<ref name="boe-foi">{{Cite web |title=Freedom of Information – disclosures |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/foi/disc091106.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803141623/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/foi/disc091106.aspx |archive-date=3 August 2012 |access-date=29 September 2013 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref> with a mandate to support the economic policies of the government of the day,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=The Bank of England Act 1998 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/about/legislation/1998-act.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222184745/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/about/legislation/1998-act.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2020 |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=Bank of England |page=50}}</ref> but independence in maintaining price stability.<ref>1 June 1998, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1120/article/2/made The Bank of England Act 1998 (Commencement) Order 1998] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111200056/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1120/article/2/made |date=11 January 2012}} s 2.; {{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/6/newsid_3806000/3806313.stm |title=BBC On This Day – 6-1997: Brown sets Bank of England free |access-date=14 September 2014 |date=6 May 1997 |archive-date=7 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132939/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/6/newsid_3806000/3806313.stm |url-status=live}}; {{Cite web |title=Bank of England – About the Bank |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231015732/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=2014-12-31 |access-date=14 September 2014}}; {{Cite web |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/parliament/index.htm |title=Bank of England: Relationship with Parliament |access-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708200732/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/parliament/index.htm |archive-date=8 July 2009 |df=dmy}}</ref> In the 21st century the Bankbank took on increased responsibility for maintaining and monitoring [[financial stability]] in the UK, and it increasingly functions as a statutory [[Financial regulation|regulator]].<ref name="BoEStability" />

The Bankbank, among other things, is custodian to the official [[gold reserves of the United Kingdom]] (and those of around 30 other countries).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belton |first=Pádraig |title=The city with $248 billion beneath its pavement |url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160419-the-city-with-248-billion-beneath-its-pavement |date=19 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108104509/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160419-the-city-with-248-billion-beneath-its-pavement |archive-date=8 November 2020 |access-date=9 November 2020 |website=bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2016|04}}, the bank held around {{Convert|5134|tonne}} of gold, worth £141&nbsp;billion. These estimates suggest that the vault could hold as much as 3% of the 171,300 tonnes of gold mined throughout human history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21969100 |title=How much gold is there in the world? |work=BBC News |last=Prior |first=Ed |date=1 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331103336/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21969100 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Efn|5,134 / 171,300 ≈ 3%}}

According to its [[strapline]], the Bankbank's core purpose is 'promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability'.<ref name="BoEHomepage">{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/ |website=Bank of England |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> This is achieved in a variety of ways:<ref name="BoEAbout">{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about |website=Bank of England |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref>

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 the [[bank rate]]), which is decided by the Bankbank'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.)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Act of Parliament gives devolved responsibility to the MPC with reserve powers for the Treasury |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980011_en_3#pt2-pb4-l1g19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314153711/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980011_en_3#pt2-pb4-l1g19 |archive-date=14 March 2010 |access-date=10 May 2010 |publisher=Opsi.gov.uk}}</ref>

As of 2024 the inflation target is 2%; if this target is missed the Governor is required to write an open letter to the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] explaining the situation and proposing remedies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inflation and the 2% target |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation |website=Bank of England |date=14 December 2023 |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> Other than setting the base interest rate, the main tool at the Bankbank's disposal in this regard is [[quantitative easing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Monetary policy |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy |website=Bank of England |date=14 December 2023 |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref>

In addition the Bankbank supervises other [[payment systems]], acting as a [[Settlement (finance)|settlement]] agent and operating [[Real-time gross settlement]] systems including [[CHAPS]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Payment and settlement |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/payment-and-settlement |website=Bank of England |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> In 2024 the Bankbank was settling around £500 billion worth of payments between banks each day.

Maintaining financial stability involves protecting the UK's savers, investors and borrowers against threats to the financial system as a whole.<ref name="BoEStability">{{cite web |title=Financial stability |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability |website=Bank of England |date=20 December 2023 |access-date=8 January 2024}}</ref> 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 the wake ofafter the [[2008 global2007–2008 financial crisis]]:

In 2011 the Bankbank's [[Prudential Regulation Authority (United Kingdom)|Prudential Regulation Authority]] was established to regulate and supervise all major banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms in the UK ('[[microprudential regulation]]').<ref>{{cite web |title=Prudential regulation |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation |website=Bank of England |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> The Bankbank also has a statutory supervisory role in relation to [[financial market]] infrastructures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Financial market infrastructure supervision |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision |website=Bank of England |date=21 December 2023 |access-date=8 January 2024}}</ref>

The Bankbank provides [[wholesale banking]] services to the UK Government (and to over a hundred overseas central banks).<ref name="BoEBankServ">{{cite web |title=Banking services |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banking-services |website=Bank of England |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> It manages the UK's [[Exchange Equalisation Account]] on behalf of [[HM Treasury]] and it maintains the government's [[Consolidated Fund]] account.<ref>{{cite web |title=Consolidated Fund |url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/consolidated-fund/ |website=UK Parliament |access-date=8 January 2024}}</ref> It also manages the country's [[Foreign exchange market|foreign exchange]] reserves and is custodian of the UK's (and others') [[gold reserves]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gold |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/gold |website=Bank of England |access-date=8 January 2024}}</ref>

The Bankbank also offers 'liquidity support and other services to banks and other financial institutions'.<ref name="BoEAbout" /> [[Commercial banks]] customarily keep a sizeable proportion of their [[Bank reserves|cash reserves]] on [[Deposit (finance)|deposit]] at the Bank of England. These [[central bank reserves]] are used by the banks to settle payments with one another;<ref>{{cite web |title=What do we know about the demand for Bank of England reserves? |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/bank-overground/2023/what-do-we-know-about-the-demand-for-bank-of-england-reserves#:~:text=Why%20do%20reserves%20matter%3F,get%20hold%20of%20cash%20first. |website=Bank of England |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref> (for this reason the Bank of England is sometimes called 'the bankers' bank').<ref name="BoEHistFun" /> 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, 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).<ref name="Exchanging for an individual at the Bank of England counter">{{Cite web |title=Exchanging old banknotes |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104175115/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes |archive-date=4 November 2019 |access-date=19 October 2019 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/17/bank-of-england-closing-personal-banking-service-employees |title=Bank of England to close personal banking service for employees |date=2016-07-17 |accessdate=2024-08-03 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Under the terms of the [[Banking Act 2009]] the Bankbank is the UK's Resolution Authority for any bank or building society judged '[[too big to fail]]'; as such it is empowered to act in the event of a [[bank failure]] 'to protect the UK’sUK's vital financial services and financial stability'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Resolution |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/resolution |website=Bank of England |date=15 December 2023 |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref>

Between 1715 and 1998, the Bank of England managed Government Stocks (which formed the bulk of the [[national debt]]): the Bankbank was responsible for issuing stocks to stockholders, paying dividends and maintaining a register of transfers;<ref name="BoEHistFun" /> however in 1998, following the decision to grant the bank operational independence, responsibility for government debt management was transferred to a new [[Debt Management Office (United Kingdom)|Debt Management Office]], which also took over Exchequer cash management and responsibility for issuing Treasury bills from the Bankbank in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who we are (HM Treasury) |url=https://www.dmo.gov.uk/about/who-we-are/hm-treasury/ |website=United Kingdom Debt Management Office |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> [[Computershare]] took over as the registrar for UK Government bonds ([[gilt-edged security|gilt-edged securities]] or 'gilts') from the bank at the end of 2004. The Bankbank, however, continues to act as [[Settlement (finance)|settlement agent]] for the Debt Management Office and custodian of its [[securities]].<ref name="BoEBankServ" />

Ever since its foundation in 1694, the Bankbank 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 a privilege for employees.<ref name="Bank of England to close personal banking service for employees">{{Cite web |last=Topham |first=Gwyn |date=17 July 2016 |title=Bank of England to close personal banking service for employees |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/17/bank-of-england-closing-personal-banking-service-employees |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109090412/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/17/bank-of-england-closing-personal-banking-service-employees |archive-date=9 November 2016 |access-date=8 November 2016 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Previously, the Bankbank 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 Bankbank increasingly withdraw from this type of business to focus more clearly on its central banking role.<ref>[https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_414002_smxx.pdf ''Western Branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland'' (1993)]</ref>

During the [[KingdomNine ofYears' England|EnglandWar]]'s, crushing defeat bythe [[KingdomRoyal of France|FranceNavy]], thewas dominantdefeated navalby power,the in[[French naval engagements culminatingNavy]] in the 1690 [[Battle of Beachy Head (1690)|Battle of Beachy Head]], becamecausing theconsternation catalystin forthe Englandgovernment to rebuild itself as a global power.of [[William III of England|William III]]'s. The English government wanteddecided to buildrebuild athe navalRoyal fleetNavy thatinto woulda rivalforce that was capable of Francechallenging the French on equal terms; however, thetheir ability to construct thisdo fleetso was hampered both by a lack of available public funds and the government's low credit of the English government in London. This lack of credit made it impossible for the English government to borrow the £1.5m that it wanted to constructuse to expand the fleetRoyal Navy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Glenn O. |date=1971 |title=English Government Borrowing, 1660–1688 |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=83–104 |doi=10.1086/385611 |issn=0021-9371 |jstor=175350 |s2cid=145365370}}</ref>

Paterson's proposal required the Government to set up a fund from which [[interest]] would be paid to the subscribers. It was decided that this would be provided for by income from [[Tonnage and poundage|tonnage]], and certain other shipping [[Duty (tax)|duties]] routinely levied by HM [[Exchequer]]; therefore Parliament approved the Bankbank's establishment by means of the [[Tonnage Act 1694]]<ref>H. Roseveare (1991). ''The Financial Revolution 1660–1760''. Longman. p. 34.</ref> ('An Act for granting to theire Majesties severall Rates and Duties upon Tunnage of Shipps and Vessells and upon Beere Ale and other Liquors for secureing certaine Recompenses and Advantages in the said Act mentioned to such Persons as shall voluntarily advance the summe of Fifteen hundred thousand Pounds towards the carrying on the Warr against France').<ref name="BankAct1694">{{cite book |editor1-last=Raithby |editor1-first=John |title=Statutes of the Realm: Volume 6, 1685-94 |date=1819 |publisher=Great Britain Record Commission |location=London |pages=483-495 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol6/pp483-495 |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

To induce subscription to the loan, the subscribers were to be [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]] by the name of the '''Governor and Company of the Bank of England'''. Public finances were in such dire condition at the time<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Kenneth E. III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdwsCgAAQBAJ&q=dire+condition+of+public+finance+1694&pg=PA63 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History |date=2014-11-25 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=9780810888883 |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202060409/https://books.google.com/books?id=EdwsCgAAQBAJ&q=dire+condition+of+public+finance+1694&pg=PA63 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> that the terms of the loan (as laid down in the Act of Parliament) were that it was to be serviced at a rate of 8% per annum; there was also a service charge of £4,000 per annum payable to the Bankbank for the management of the loan.

The [[royal charter]] of the Bank of England was granted on 27 July 1694, three months after the passing of the Act.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

The first Governor of the Bankbank was [[John Houblon]], and the first Deputy Governor [[Michael Godfrey]]. (330 years later, in 1994, the Bankbank would issue a [[Bank of England £50 note|£50 note]] depicting Houblon to mark its [[tercentenary]].)<ref>{{Cite ODNB |title=Houblon, Sir John (1632–1712), merchant |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-13861 |access-date=2022-12-17 | year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13861| last1=Roseveare | first1=H. G. }}</ref>

Governance was vested in the Governor, his Deputy and a 'Court' of 24 Directors (most of whom were [[merchant banker]]s recruited from the City); the Directors were elected annually by a 'General Court' of all the Bank's registered stockholders (collectively known as 'the Proprietors'). The [[Company seal|common seal]] of the Court of Directors, adopted on 30 July 1694, depicted '[[Britannia]] sitting and looking on a Bank of mony'; Britannia has been the Bankbank's emblem ever since.<ref>{{cite web |title=Britannia and the Bank (1962) |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/britannia-and-the-bank.pdf |website=Bank of England |access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref>

The Court appointed three senior officers who, alongside the Governor and Deputy Governor, were responsible for its day-to-day running of the Bankbank: the Secretary and Sollicitor, the First Accomptant and the First Cashier. (Their successors, the Secretary, Chief Accountant and [[Chief Cashier of the Bank of England|Chief Cashier]], continued to head up the main divisions of the Bankbank's operations for the next 250 years: the Chief Cashier and the Chief Accountant had oversight of the 'cash side' and the 'stock side' of the Bankbank, respectively, while the Secretary oversaw its internal administration.)<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

Besides these officers, the Bankbank in 1694 was staffed by seventeen clerks and two doorkeepers.<ref name="BoEHistFun">{{cite book |title=The Bank of England: History and Functions |date=1970 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/history-and-functions.pdf}}</ref>

The Act of Parliament prohibited the Bankbank from trading in goods or merchandise of any kind, though it was allowed to deal in gold and silver [[bullion]], and in [[bills of exchange]].<ref name="Allen1828" /> Before very long, the Bankbank was maximising its profits by issuing [[banknotes]], taking [[deposits]] and lending on [[mortgages]].<ref name="Kynaston2017" />

In its early days the Bankbank made significant losses, not least by accepting [[Coin clipping|clipped coins]] in exchange for its banknotes.<ref name="Allen1828" /> The establishment of a Land Bank (by [[John Asgill]] and [[Nicholas Barbon]]) in 1695, and a currency shortage occasioned by the [[Great Recoinage of 1696]], both threatened the Bankbank's position;<ref name="BoEHistFun" /> but Parliament intervened, passing [[Bank of England Act 1696|another Act]] that year, which authorised the Bankbank to increase its capital to over £2.2 million through the enlarging of its stock by new subscriptions.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Raithby |editor1-first=John |title=Statutes of the Realm: Volume 7, 1695-1701 |date=1820 |publisher=Great Britain Record Commission |location=London |pages=218-238 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol7/pp218-238 |access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>

The idea and reality of the [[United Kingdom national debt|national debt]] came about at around this time, and this was also largely managed by the bank. Through the 1715 [[Ways and Means]] Act, Parliament authorised the Bankbank to receive subscriptions for a government issue of 5% annuities, designed to raise £910,000;<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Bank of England as Registrar |journal=Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin |date=1 March 1963 |pages=22–29 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/1963/the-boe-as-registrar.pdf |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> this marked the start of the Bankbank's role in managing Government Stocks, which were a means for people to invest in government debt (previously Government borrowing had been administered directly by the Exchequer).<ref name="Hennessy1992">{{cite book |last1=Hennessy |first1=Elizabeth |title=A Domestic History of the Bank of England |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=43–45}}</ref> The Bankbank was obliged by the Act to pay half-yearly [[dividends]] and to keep a book record of all transfers (as it was already accustomed to do with regard to its own Bank Stock).

The Bankbank did not have a monopoly on lending to the government, however: the [[South Sea Company]] had been established in 1711, and in 1720 it too became responsible for part of the UK's national debt, becoming a major competitor to the Bank of England. While the "South Sea Bubble" disaster soon ensued, the company continued managing part of the UK national debt until 1853. The [[East India Company]] too was a lender of choice for the government.

In 1734 there were ninety-six members of staff at the bank.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> The bank's charter was renewed in 1742, and again in 1764. By the 1742 Act the Bankbank became the only [[joint-stock company]] allowed to issue bank notes in the metropolis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4359 |title=Lombard Street: a description of the money market |publisher=Henry S. King and Co. |year=1873 |location=London |access-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509060631/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4359 |archive-date=9 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The newly-built premises, designed by George Sampson, occupied a narrow plot (around {{convert|80|ft}} wide) extending north from Threadneedle Street.<ref name="SoaneMusSampson">{{cite web |title=Presentation drawings for the Bank as designed by George Sampson, 1732 |url=https://collections.soane.org/OBJECT2032 |website=Sir John Soane's Museum, London |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> The front building contained [[Stock transfer agent|transfer offices]] on the first floor, beneath which was an entrance arch leading to a courtyard. Facing the entrance was the 'main building' of the bank:<ref name="Maitland1756" /> a [[Banking hall|large Hall]] ({{convert|79x40|ft|abbr=on}}) in which bank notes were issued and exchanged,<ref name="Phillips1805">{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Sir Richard |title=Modern London: Being the History and Present State of the British Metropolis |date=1805 |publisher=Richard Phillips |location=London |pages=296–304}}</ref> and where deposits and withdrawals could be made.<ref name="Kynaston2017" /> (Sampson's Great Hall, later known as the Pay Hall, remained ''in situ'' and in use until [[Herbert Baker]]'s comprehensive rebuilding in the late 1920s.)<ref name="Rebuilding">{{cite web |title=Rebuilding the Bank of England |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/online-collections/archive-gallery/rebuilding-of-the-bank |website=Bank of England Museum |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> Beyond the Hall was a quadrangle of buildings enclosing a 'spacious and commodious Court-yard' (later known as Bullion Court). On the south side of the quadrangle were the Court Room and Committee Room, on the north side was a large Accountants' Office; on either side were [[arcaded]] walkways, with rooms for the senior officers, while the upper floors contained offices and apartments.<ref name="SoaneMusSampson" /> Beneath the quadrangle were the vaults ('that have very strong Walls and Iron Gates, for the Preservation of the Cash'); access to the courtyard was provided, by way of a passage leading to a 'grand Gateway' on Bartholomew Lane, for the coaches and waggons 'that come frequently loaded with Gold and Silver Bullion'.<ref name="Maitland1756">{{cite book |last1=Maitland |first1=William |title=The History and Survey of London from its Foundation to the Present Time (volume II) |date=1756 |publisher=T. Osborne and J. Shipton |location=London |pages=846–848 |url=https://archive.org/details/historysurveyofl02mait/page/846/mode/2up? |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> The pediment above the entrance to the main Hall was decorated with a carved ''[[alto relievo]]'' figure of [[Britannia]] (who had appeared on the [[Company seal|common seal]] of the Bankbank since 30 July 1694);<ref>{{cite book |title=Britannia and the Bank 1694-1961 |date=1962 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |page=1 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/britannia-and-the-bank.pdf |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> the sculptor was [[Robert Taylor (architect)|Robert Taylor]], who went on to be appointed Architect, in succession to Sampson, in 1764. Inside, the east end of the Hall was dominated by a large statue by [[John Cheere]] of King William III,<ref>{{cite web |title=William III (1650–1702) (Henry Cheere (1703–1781)) Bank of England Museum |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/william-iii-16501702-256600 |website=Art UK |access-date=21 January 2024}}</ref> lauded in an accompanying Latin inscription as the Bankbank's founder (''conditor'');<ref name="Allen1828" /> at the opposite end, a large [[Venetian window]] looked out on St Christopher's churchyard.

In the second half of the 18th century the Bankbank gradually acquired neighbouring plots of land to enable it to expand, and after 1765 new buildings began to be added by the Bankbank's newly-appointed architect Robert Taylor. North-west of the Pay Hall, overlooking St Christopher's churchyard to the south, Taylor built a suite of rooms for the Directors of the bank centred on a new (much larger) Court Room and Committee Room (When the Bankbank was rebuilt in the 1920s-30s, these rooms were removed from their original ground-floor location and reconstructed on the first floor; they continue to be used for meetings of the bank's Court of Directors and Monetary Policy Committee respectively.).<ref>{{cite web |title=Court Room |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/6220545302 |website=Flickr |date=7 October 2011 |publisher=Bank of England |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Committee Room |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/6220027309 |website=Flickr |date=7 October 2011 |publisher=Bank of England |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> East of the Pay Hall, Taylor built a suite of halls and offices dedicated to the management of stocks and dividends, which more or less doubled the size of the Bankbank's footprint (extending it as far as Bartholomew Lane).<ref name="Kynaston2017">{{cite book |last1=Kynaston |first1=David |title=Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England 1694-2013 |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |pages=60–62}}</ref> These rooms were centred on a large Rotunda, also known as the [[Stock exchange|Brokers' Exchange]], where dealing in Government Stock took place; around it were arranged four sizeable Transfer Offices, each corresponding with a different fund (as described in the 1820s: 'In each office under the several letters of the alphabet, are arranged the books on which the names of all persons having property in the funds are registered, as well as the particulars of their respective interests').<ref name="Allen1828">{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Thomas |title=The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent (Volume 3) |date=1828 |publisher=Cowie & Strange |location=London |pages=221–245}}</ref> All these offices were top-lit, to avoid the need for windows in the external walls.

In 1782 the church of St Christopher le Stocks was demolished, allowing the Bankbank to expand westwards along Threadneedle Street. The new west wing was completed to Taylor's design in 1786 (its frontage matching that of Taylor's earlier east wing): it housed the Reduced Annuities Office, the Cheque Office and the Dividend Warrant Office (among others). Immediately to the north lay the former churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks, which was preserved within the complex of buildings as a garden (known as the 'Garden Court'). North of Bullion Court, Taylor built a new four-storey Library, to house the Bankbank's expanding collection of archives.

The church's demolition had been prompted by the 1780 [[Gordon Riots]], during which rioters reportedly climbed on the church to throw projectiles at the buildings of the Bankbank. During the riots, in June 1780, the Lord Mayor of London petitioned the Secretary of State to send a military guard to protect the Bankbank and the Mansion House.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bank Picquet: its function and history |date=1963 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/bank-picquet.pdf |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> Thenceforward a nightly guard (the '[[Bank Picquet]]') was provided by soldiers of the [[Household Brigade]] (a practice which continued until 1973). To house the guard Taylor built a Barracksbarracks (accessed from a separate entrance on Princes Street) in the north-west corner of the site.

Sir Robert Taylor died in 1788 and in his place the Bankbank appointed [[John Soane]] as Architect and Surveyor (he would remain in post until 1827). Under his direction, the bank was further expanded and partially rebuilt, bit by bit but to a cohesive plan. A survey of the buildings, undertaken at the start of his tenure, identified some problems, which were promptly remedied by Soane: for example in 1795 he rebuilt the Rotunda and two of the adjacent Transfer Offices (the Bank Stock Office and the Four Per Cent Office), replacing Taylor's timber roofs, which were leaking, with more durable stonework.<ref name="Francis1848" /> At the same time Soane was tasked with purchasing properties to the north-east, with compulsory purchase powers granted by the '''{{visible anchor|Bank of England Site Act 1793}}''' ([[33 Geo. 3]]. c. 15), so as to enable the bank to expand in that direction as far as Lothbury. Between 1794 and 1800 he designed a cohesive set of buildings within the new irregularly-shaped site: he reconfigured Bullion Court and provided a new entrance route for vehicles from the north, which was named Lothbury Court;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Brian |title=Sir John Soane & The Bank of England |website=Heritage Group |publisher=Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers |url=http://www.hevac-heritage.org/built_environment/biographies/surnames_S-W/soane/S1-SOANE.pdf |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> to the west of this he built a new Chief Cashier's office, and rooms for the Secretary and Chief Accountant; to the east he constructed a new Library block and added a fifth Transfer Office (the [[Consols]] Transfer Office) to the north of the other four.<ref name="ProjectSoane">{{cite web |title=The Bank of England |url=https://projectsoane.wordpress.com/home/all-about-the-bank/the-bank-of-england/ |website=Project Soane |date=14 July 2017 |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref>

In 1798, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], a Corps of Bankbank [[British Volunteer Corps|Volunteers]] was formed (of between 450 and 500 men) to defend the Bankbank in the event of an invasion. It was disbanded in 1802, but promptly re-formed the following year at the start of the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Its soldiers were trained, in the event of an invasion, to remove the gold and silver from the vaults to a remote location, along with the banknote printing presses and certain important records.<ref>{{cite web |title=Record (Letter from Henry Dundas MP...) |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=13A84%2F7%2F84 |website=Bank of England Archive |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> An armoury was provided on site at Threadneedle Street for their arms and [[accoutrements]].<ref name="Allen1828" /> The Corps was finally disbanded in 1814.

At the start of the 19th century a plan was enacted by John Soane for the further extension of the Bankbank's premises, this time to the north-west (necessitating the rerouting of Princes Street, to form the new western boundary of the site). Much of the area of the new extension was taken up with steam-powered presses for the printing of banknotes (notes continued to be printed on site until the First World War, when the former [[St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics|St Luke's Hospital]] was acquired and converted into the Bankbank's printing works).<ref>{{cite web |title=A history of banknote printing at the Bank of England |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/whats-on/2018/feliks-topolski/history-of-banknote-printing |website=Bank of England Museum |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> Soane continued in post until 1833; in the last years before his retirement he completed his rebuilding of Taylor's east wing and reconfigured Sampson and Taylor's street-facing façades to make the entire perimeter of the complex a coherent whole.

The '[[panic of 1825]]' highlighted risks inherent in the Bankbank's three-way split loyalties: to its stockholders, to the Government (and thereby to the public), and to its commercial banking customers. In 1825–26 the bank was able to avert a liquidity crisis when [[Nathan Mayer Rothschild]] succeeded in supplying it with gold;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Harry |date=4 February 2011 |title=Rothschild: history of a London banking dynasty |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8302288/Rothschild-history-of-a-London-banking-dynasty.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8302288/Rothschild-history-of-a-London-banking-dynasty.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> nevertheless, in the wake ofafter the crisis, many country and provincial banks failed prompting numerous commercial bankruptcies.<ref name="BoEBranches" /> The passing of the [[Country Bankers Act 1826]] allowed the Bankbank to open provincial branches for the better distribution of its banknotes (at the time small country banks, some of which were significantly [[undercapitalised]], issued their own notes); by the end of the following year eight Bank of England branches had been set up around the country.<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

The [[Bank Charter Act 1844]] tied the issue of notes to the gold reserves and gave the Bank of England sole rights with regard to the issue of banknotes in England. Private banks that had previously had that right retained it, provided that their headquarters were outside London and that they deposited security against the notes that they issued; but they were offered inducements to relinquish this right. (The last private bank in England to issue its own notes was Thomas Fox's [[Fox, Fowler and Company]] bank in [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]], which rapidly expanded until it merged with Lloyds Bank in 1927. They remained legal tender until 1964. (There are nine notes left in circulation; one is housed at [[Tone Dale House]], [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]].))

During the governorship of [[Montagu Norman]], from 1920 to 1944, the bank made deliberate efforts to move away from [[commercial bank]]ing and become a central bank. A later Governor, [[Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown|Robin Leigh-Pemberton]], described it as 'a time of rapid change, in which we began to move away from the clerical traditions of 200 years [...] and to accept specialisation, mechanisation and modern management disciplines'.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> Economists and statisticians began to be employed at the Bankbank in increasing number. In 1931 the 'Peacock Committee', set up to advise on organisational improvements, published recommendations which included the appointment of paid executive Directors (alongside the traditional non-executive members of the Court). It also recommended reconfiguration of the Bankbank's traditional departmental structures.

The work of the Bankbank had significantly increased since the end of the First World War, and the decision was taken to expand. Between 1925 and 1939 the Bankbank's headquarters on Threadneedle Street were comprehensively rebuilt by [[Herbert Baker]]. (This involved the demolition of most of Sir John Soane's buildings, an act described by architectural historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] as "the greatest architectural crime, in the [[City of London]], of the twentieth century".)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=Simon |title=London 1: The City of London |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1997 |isbn=0-14-071092-2 |series=Buildings of England}}</ref> Initially the plan had been to retain Soane's banking halls behind the curtain wall, but this proved challenging so they were instead demolished and rebuilt in facsimile.<ref name="Sayers1976">{{cite book |last1=Sayers |first1=R. S. |title=The Bank of England 1891-1944 |date=1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=338–341}}</ref> The demolition and rebuilding took place in stages, with staff moving from one part of the building to another (or, in some cases, into temporary accommodation at [[Finsbury Circus]]). The bullion and securities remained on site throughout. During reconstruction human remains pertaining to the old churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks were exhumed and reburied at [[Nunhead Cemetery]].

Baker's [[steel-framed]] building stands seven storeys high, with a further three vault storeys extending below ground level. It is decorated with sculpture and bronze work by [[Charles Wheeler (sculptor)|Charles Wheeler]], plasterwork by Joseph Armitage and mosaics by [[Boris Anrep]].<ref name="Sayers1976" /> The Bankbank today is a [[Grade I listed]] building.

1939 saw the introduction of [[Exchange Controls in the United Kingdom]] at the outbreak of the [[Second World War]]; these were administered by the Bankbank.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> During WWII, over 10% of the face value of circulating Pound Sterling banknotes were forgeries produced by Germany.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/history |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=www.bankofengland.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

A number of the Bankbank's operations and staff were relocated to Hampshire for the duration of the war, including the printing works (which moved to [[Overton, Hampshire|Overton]]), the Accountant's Department (which went to [[Hurstbourne Park]]) and various other offices. Those who remained at Threadneedle Street, including the Directors, moved their offices into the underground vaults.<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

After the war, the very large Accountant's Department (which managed the stock side of the Bankbank) moved back to London from Hampshire. Its designated office-space at Threadneedle Street, however, had in the meantime been taken over by the Exchange Control office. The Department was instead provided with temporary accommodation (once more in Finsbury Circus), pending construction of a new building, which would occupy a two-acre [[bombsite]] immediately to the east of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. 'Bank of England New Change' was designed by Victor Heal and opened in 1957 (at the time it was London's biggest post-war rebuilding project);<ref>{{cite web |title=Bank of England New Change |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=DS%2FUK%2F618 |website=Bank of England Archive |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> the new building contained several staff amenities alongside the office accommodation and, at street level, retail units were let to an assortment of businesses. The bank had the building on a 200-year lease; but with the advent of computerisation staff numbers were drastically reduced in the 1980s-90s; parts of the building were let to other firms (most notably the law firm [[Allen & Overy]]). The Bankbank sold the building in 2000 and in 2007 it was demolished; [[One New Change]] now stands on the site.

In 1977 the Bankbank set up a wholly owned subsidiary called [[Bank of England Nominees|Bank of England Nominees Limited]] (BOEN), a now-defunct private limited company, with two of its hundred £1 shares issued. According to its memorandum of association, its objectives were: "To act as Nominee or agent or attorney either solely or jointly with others, for any person or persons, partnership, company, corporation, government, state, organisation, sovereign, province, authority, or public body, or any group or association of them". Bank of England Nominees Limited was granted an exemption by [[Edmund Dell]], Secretary of State for Trade, from the disclosure requirements under Section 27(9) of the Companies Act 1976, because "it was considered undesirable that the disclosure requirements should apply to certain categories of shareholders". The Bank of England is also protected by its [[royal charter]] status and the [[Official Secrets Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-07-27 |title=27 July 1694: the Bank of England is created by Royal Charter |language=en-GB |work=MoneyWeek |url=https://moneyweek.com/27-july-1694-the-bank-of-england-is-created-by-royal-charter |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072524/https://moneyweek.com/27-july-1694-the-bank-of-england-is-created-by-royal-charter |archive-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> BOEN was a vehicle for governments and heads of state to invest in UK companies (subject to approval from the Secretary of State), providing they undertake "not to influence the affairs of the company".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proceedings of the House of Commons, 21st April 1977 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1977/apr/21/shareholdings-disclosure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627195641/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1977/apr/21/shareholdings-disclosure |archive-date=27 June 2011 |work=[[Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=21 April 1977 |access-date=1 June 2011}}; {{Cite news |title=Horses, stamps, cars – and an invisible portfolio |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.monarchy2 |location=London |work=The Guardian |date=30 May 2002 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927190824/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.monarchy2 |url-status=live}}</ref> In its later years, BOEN was no longer exempt from company law disclosure requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proceedings of the House of Lords, 26th April 2011 |url=http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Lords/bydate/20110426/writtenanswers/part021.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122173255/http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Lords/ByDate/20110426/writtenanswers/part021.html |archive-date=22 November 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref> Although a [[dormant company]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bank of England Nominees Company Accounts |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/56089866/BANK-OF-ENGLAND-NOMINEES-LIMITED-Company-accounts-from-Level-Business |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201024434/https://www.scribd.com/doc/56089866/BANK-OF-ENGLAND-NOMINEES-LIMITED-Company-accounts-from-Level-Business |archive-date=1 December 2016 |access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> dormancy does not preclude a company actively operating as a nominee shareholder.<ref>Fire example, {{Cite web |title=Nominee Service |url=http://www.pilling.com/Nominee-Service.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051438/http://www.pilling.com/Nominee-Service.htm |archive-date=25 April 2012 |access-date=12 September 2011 |publisher=Pilling & Co. Stockbrokers Ltd.}}</ref> BOEN had two shareholders: the Bank of England, and the Secretary of the Bank of England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom of Information Act response regarding Bank of England Nominees Limited |url=http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/28738/response/74019/attach/2/D.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828072151/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/28738/response/74019/attach/2/D.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2016 |access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref>

in June 1998 responsibility for the regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries was transferred from the Bankbank to the [[Financial Services Authority]]. A [[memorandum of understanding]] described the terms under which the bank, the Treasury, and the FSA would work toward the common aim of increased financial stability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memorandum of Understanding between the HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/mou.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203101708/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/mou.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2010 |access-date=10 May 2010 |df=dmy}}</ref> (Ten years later, however, in the wake ofafter the [[20082007–2008 financial crisis]], new banking legislation transferred the responsibility for regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries back to the Bank of England).

In 2009, a request made to [[HM Treasury]] under the [[Freedom of Information Act 2000|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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keogh |first=Joseph |date=17 September 2009 |title=Named and unnamed shareholders of the Bank of England |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/named_and_unnamed_shareholders_o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202223107/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/named_and_unnamed_shareholders_o |archive-date=2 February 2021 |access-date=29 December 2020 |website=What do they know}}</ref> In a letter of reply dated 15&nbsp;October 2009, HM Treasury explained that "Some of the 3% Treasury stock which was used to compensate former owners of Bankbank 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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morran |first=Paul |date=15 October 2009 |title=Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000: Bank of England Unnamed 3% Stock Holding Not Redeemed |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/18171/response/49781/attach/2/foi%20keo.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426213057/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/18171/response/49781/attach/2/foi%20keo.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |archive-date=26 April 2021 |access-date=29 December 2020 |website=What do they know}}</ref>

For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the Bankbank had a number of [[Branch (banking)|branches]] in London and other English cities.

The first branches opened in 1826 (with impetus provided by the passing of the [[Country Bankers Act 1826|Country Bankers Act]], which for the first time permitted the establishment of [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock]] banks outside London).<ref name="BoEBranches">{{cite journal |title=Branches of the Bank of England |journal=Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin |date=1 December 1963 |pages=279–284 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/1963/branches-of-the-boe.pdf}}</ref> The Bankbank envisaged that the new network of branches would 'increase the circulation of Bank Notes, give the Bankbank much more complete control over the whole paper circulation, and protect the Bankbank against the competition of larger banking Companies'.<ref name="BoEAgencies">{{cite journal |title=The Bank's regional Agencies |journal=Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin |date=1 December 1997 |pages=424–427}}</ref> Each branch was overseen by an Agent (a person of 'commercial knowledge, with local experience').<ref name="BoEBranches" /> By 1829 there were eleven branches operating (ten in England and one in Wales). Some of the less profitable branches were relatively short-lived, but others continued operating into the 1990s.

===List of Bank of England Branchesbranches===

| Opened in Union Street (in the former banking house of Gibbins, Smith & Goode); moved in 1838 to the former Bank of Birmingham building on [[Bennetts Hill|Bennett's Hill]], and then into the former Staffordshire Joint Stock Bank premises at 1 Temple Row in 1890. In 1970 it moved into a new building (pictured) at No. 55.

| Operated largely as a commercial bank; when the Bankbank was disengaging from such activity, the building (and much of the business) was sold to the [[Royal Bank of Scotland]].

| Opened in two converted houses on Clavering Place (later demolished for railway improvements). Moved to a new building in [[Grey Street, Newcastle|Grey Street]] (the Bankbank's first purpose-built branch) in 1838, where it remained until a new building was opened on Pilgrim Street in 1971.

The Court of Directors is a unitary board that is responsible for setting the organisation's strategy and budget and making key decisions on resourcing and appointments. It consists of five executive members from the bank (the Governor and the four Deputy Governors, each of whom oversees a different area of the Bank’sbank's work), plus up to 9 non-executive members, all of whom are appointed by the Crown. The Chancellor selects the Chairman of the Court from among the non-executive members. The Court is required to meet at least seven times a year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Court of Directors |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/court-of-directors |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109130811/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/court-of-directors |archive-date=9 January 2018 |access-date=8 January 2018 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref>

Since 2013, the bank has had a [[chief operating officer]] (COO) with the status and remuneration of a Deputy Governor.<ref name="BoE - Appointment of Chief Operating Officer">{{Cite web |date=18 June 2013 |title=News Release – Appointment of Chief Operating Officer |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2013/080.aspx |access-date=3 September 2015 |website=Bank of England}}</ref> {{As of|2024}}, the bank's COO is Ben Stimson; he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Bankbank, including Human Resources, Property, IT and Security.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ben Stimson – Chief Operating Officer |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/ben-stimson/biography |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Bank of England}}</ref>

Some twenty Executive Directors work alongside the Governors, forming 'the wider executive management team'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Executive Directors |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/executive-directors |website=Bank of England |access-date=22 January 2024}}</ref> Among their number are the Bankbank's [[chief economist]] ([[Huw Pill]] since 2021),<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |last=Elliott |first=Larry |date=1 September 2021 |title=Bank of England appoints Huw Pill as chief economist |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/01/bank-of-england-appoints-huw-pill-chief-economist-goldman-sachs |url-status=live |access-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902001827/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/01/bank-of-england-appoints-huw-pill-chief-economist-goldman-sachs |archive-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> and chief cashier.