Web Trader MT5
The UK’s central bank, founded in 1694. That makes it one of the oldest still-operating central banks anywhere, beaten only by Sweden’s Riksbank. Nicknamed “the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” after its London address.
Three big jobs. First, the Monetary Policy Committee sets Bank Rate eight times a year, with a 2% inflation target and a remit issued by the Chancellor. Second, the Prudential Regulation Authority; housed inside the Bank; regulates banks, building societies, and insurers. Third, the Financial Policy Committee monitors systemic risk and can deploy macroprudential tools like countercyclical capital buffers.
The Bank also issues banknotes (in England and Wales; Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are issued separately) and operates the UK’s wholesale payment system.
Example: In late September 2022, after the Truss government’s mini-budget triggered a violent sell-off in long-dated gilts, the Bank stepped in with emergency gilt purchases to stabilise the market. Pension funds running liability-driven investment strategies were facing forced sales that could have collapsed the long end. The Bank’s intervention was small in size, decisive in effect, and over within two weeks.
