Important Facts and History

The Bank of England of was established on July 27, 1694 with £ 1,200,000.00 by William Paterson. [1] The initial investment of capital which was advanced to the government in return for banking privileges, it allowed bank notes to be issued up to the full amount of capital. [3] During the mid 1800s the modern day structure of the Bank of England was created using the Bank Charter Act of 1844; this act separated the department that handled issuing bank notes from the banking department. The modern day bank only handles management of the public debt and serves as the depository of government funds. [3] After World War II the Bank of England under

Parliament was provided nationalization, it still remained the treasury's adviser, agent and debt manager, at this time it virtually ceased all private business. [1][3] In the late 1990s the Bank of England saw to more major changes; in 1997 the Government bestowed the Bank of England the responsibility of setting interest rates and in 1998 under the Bank of England Act the bank would now be made up of the Bank's Governor, currently Mervyn King, 2 Deputy Governors and 16 Non-Executive Directors. [1] The Bank's original location was Mercers' Hall and then in Grocers' Hall but it moved to Threadneedle Street, London in the 1730s where its headquarters remain today. [2] The bank is also fondly known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or simply The Old Lady.