Bank of England

The Bank of England fulfills the role of a national or central bank in the United Kingdom and plays a major role in determining UK monetary policy. Founded in 1694, the bank was nationalised in 1946 and was granted independence from the control of the UK Treasury and one of the first acts of the incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in 1997. The Bank of England is located on Threadneedle Street in the City of London (the financial district of London), and is informally known as 'the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street'. The Bank is responsible for printing all legal tender bank notes in the UK, although by custom three banks in Scotland and banks in Northern Ireland also print notes that are accepted for circulation.