The Court of Directors of the Bank of England
The Bank of England’s Court of Directors, its governing board, celebrates 332 years in 2026, having transformed from a private‑shareholder body to a modern, publicly‑owned central‑bank board. Today the Court comprises the five Governors and up to nine non‑executive directors, overseeing strategy, budgeting, risk‑tolerance and senior appointments while policy rests with statutory committees. Over the past three decades the Court’s structure and duties have been reshaped through legislative reforms, the 1946 nationalisation and the introduction of full‑time executive directors. These changes have aligned the Court with corporate best practice while preserving the Bank’s public‑policy mission.
Mind the Gap: A UK Microprudential Perspective on General Insurance Protection Gaps
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released a micro‑prudential review of general‑insurance protection gaps, examining how these gaps intersect with its safety‑and‑soundness, policyholder protection, and financial‑stability objectives. The paper highlights persistent gaps in flood and cyber coverage, noting FloodRe’s role in...
Responding to Crises: How the Bank Stays Ready
The Bank of England has released updated operational guides for bail‑in and transfer resolution, introducing a new PROPPs instrument and detailing the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Act 2025. The guides incorporate lessons from the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank UK failure and include...
This Time It's Personal: The Rise of Dynamic, Personalised Pricing and What It Means for Inflation
Dynamic and personalised pricing, powered by AI and big‑data, is spreading beyond travel and hospitality into most consumer‑facing sectors. UK firms report that 21% already use market‑responsive algorithms, with plans to reach 31% within a year, while personalised discounts are...
Being Ready for Cross-Border Resolution: Lessons From Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank
The Bank of England detailed its cross‑border resolution framework, highlighting lessons from the 2023 failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse. Using SVB’s UK subsidiary and Credit Suisse’s £506 billion (≈$632 billion) asset base, the BoE explained how coordination with...
Global Imbalances Are Back
Global current‑account imbalances have surged to their highest levels in 150 years, with surpluses becoming markedly more persistent. A new Bank of England staff paper attributes much of the excess to industrial‑policy programmes that suppress domestic consumption, especially where capital controls...
Resilience and Readiness Across the Sterling Monetary Framework
The Bank of England is deepening its repo‑led, demand‑driven liquidity framework, with market‑wide facilities now supplying roughly a quarter of sterling reserves. Short‑Term Repo borrowing averages about £100 billion ($125 bn) and Indexed Long‑Term Repo about £70 billion ($87.5 bn) each auction, while the...