Bank of England Governor- Figurehead or Chief Executive?

Current Governor: Andrew Bailey

The Governor of the Bank of England is a pretty old role. It has been around since the bank was founded way back when.

The first Governor Sir John Houblon was appointed in the year 1694 during the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II!

It’s worth remembering that initially, the Bank of England was a private institution.

It was founded to help fund the Government with the Monarchy being the main shareholders.

(It was always though regulated by government rules and regulations.)

In 1946, the Bank was formally nationalised and bought under Government control by the post-war Attlee government.

Despite having the more symbolic title of Governor, the role is actually much more akin to a Company CEO than a political or symbolic role. They are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister.

According to the Bank of England website :

The governors [the governor and his deputies] serve as the Bank’s top level executive team, and are responsible, in conjunction with the Bank’s policy committees, for overseeing the fulfilment of the Bank’s mission.

In their role, the Governor oversees the main policy areas and chairs key decision making policy committees.

Many people have commented that the Governor in fact could be too powerful. The role is a hefty one, hence the nearly half a million pound annual salary!

As well as formal policy roles, the Governor also has a lot of ‘soft power.’ The pound has been known to rise and fall on the basis of their words.

The current Governor is Mark Bailey, former CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority. His term is 16 March 2020 to 15 March 2028.

(Note- Andrew Bailey image copyright: Uk Government, OGL3 via WikiCommons)

Latest Blog Posts:

Which are the world’s most valuable currencies?

Which are the world’s most valuable currencies?

On a daily basis a currency’s value will change against another. When looking at their relative strength, it’s common to compare them against one of the major reserve currencies like USD, EUR or GBP.  Using data from Nov 2022 , we’ve compiled a list of the world’s ten most valuable currencies…

An in-depth look at the Qatar Rial (QAR)

An in-depth look at the Qatar Rial (QAR)

With the World Cup taking place in Qatar between November and December 2022, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a deeper dive into the currency of the host nation. Below we’ll look at the history, the production and the economy that sits behind the Qatari Riyal. The Gulf Rupee was…

In brief: What the UK Autumn Statement means for SME’s

In brief: What the UK Autumn Statement means for SME’s

Last week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement on the status of UK finances and announced a set of new economic policies. As we are all too aware, this was expected to be a sombre affair given the perilous state of the UK economy after Covid-19, the Ukraine War…

1 13 14 15 16 17 28

Discover more from Finseta

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Sonny Hellmers

Senior currency specialist