We’re publicly owned
We are a public body that must answer to the people of the UK through Parliament.
We started over 300 years ago as a private bank with shareholders. In 1946, the Government nationalised us because of our central importance to the UK’s economy.
In 1997, the Government granted us independence in some areas of our work because they wanted our decisions to be free from party-political influence.
Find out more about our history.
Our mission that drives us
Our mission is to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.
That includes things like making sure you can pay for things securely, keeping the cost of living stable, and ensuring you can rely on banking or payment services.
Read more about what we do.
A Court of Directors oversees our work
Our Court of Directors (similar to a board of directors) governs us. It sets our strategy and makes our most important decisions on spending and appointments.
It consists of five full-time members – the Governor and four deputy governors – and seven non-executive directors. All are appointed by the Government.
The Governor is our chief executive. The current Governor is Andrew Bailey.
Our Internal Audit Department helps our Court of Directors and executive team to protect our assets, reputation and sustainability. The division independently and objectively evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls, risk management and governance processes. This work is guided by our internal audit charter.
Committees make our main policy decisions
The three committees that make our most important policy decisions are the:
These are all chaired by the Governor. They include people from outside the Bank of England who have relevant knowledge or experience (we call them ‘external’ committee members).