Gold

more...

Home
Antiquities
Architectural & Garden
Asian Antiques
Books, Manuscripts
Decorative Arts
Ceramics, Porcelain
Clocks
Glass
Lamps
Metalware
Brass
Candlesticks, Snuffers
Other
Statues, Figures
Bronze
Cast Iron
Copper
Gold
Other
Pewter
Tin
Wrought Iron
Mirrors
Other
Picture Frames
Toleware
Woodenware
Ethnographic
Furniture
Maps, Atlases, Globes
Maritime
Musical Instruments
Other Antiques
Primitives
Rugs, Carpets
Science & Medicine
Silver
Textiles, Linens

The Governor and Company of the Bank of England (usually shortened to the Bank of England) is a state owned institution and the central bank of the United Kingdom, that convenes the eponymous Monetary Policy Committee that is responsible for managing the monetary policy of the country. 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 on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales.

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 as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or just The Old Lady. The Governor of the Bank of England is Mervyn King who took over on June 30, 2003 from Sir Edward George.

Functions of the Bank

The Bank of England performs all the functions of a central bank. The most important of these is supposed to be maintaining price stability and supporting the economic policies of the British Government, thus promoting economic growth. There are two main areas which are tackled by the Bank to ensure it carries out these functions efficiently:

Monetary stability;

Stable prices and confidence in the currency are the two main criteria for monetary stability. Stable prices are maintained by making sure price increases meet the Government's inflation target. The Bank aims to meet this target by adjusting the base interest rate, which is decided by the Monetary Policy Committee, and through its communications strategy.

Financial stability;

Maintaining financial stability involves protecting against threats to the whole financial system. Threats are detected by the Bank's surveillance and market intelligence functions. The threats are then dealt with through financial and other operations, both at home and abroad. In exceptional circumstances, the Bank may act as the lender of last resort by extending credit when no other institution will.

The Bank works together with several other institutions to secure both monetary and financial stability, including:

HM Treasury, the Government department responsible for financial and economic policy.; The Financial Services Authority, an independent body that regulates the financial services industry.; Other central banks and international organisations, with the aim of improving the international financial system.;

The 1997 Memorandum of Understanding describes the terms under which the Bank, the Treasury and the FSA work toward the common aim of increased financial stability.

Read more at Wikipedia.org