An account of the principal phases in the development of the English banking system, and an analysis of the financial structure of the economy of the UK. The book focuses in detail on the regulatory and supervisory aspects of the UK banking system, and the interactions between the structural aspects of the banking and supervisory system.

This 2005 treatment compares the central banks of Britain and the United States.

Based on detailed research and consultation with experts, including the Bank of England, this book reviews theoretical and historical debates on the nature of money and banking and explains the role of the central bank, the Government and the European Union. Following a sell out first edition and reprint, this second edition includes new sections on Libor and quantitative easing in the UK and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

This book is concerned with developments in three main areas of monetary history: domestic commercial banking; monetary policy; and the UK’s international financial position. For ease of analysis the 160 years under study are arranged into three clear chronological divisons. Part 1 covers the years 1826-1913, a period in which the UK emerged as the world’s leading economic power. It was in these years that an extensive and fully-operative domestic banking system was established. Part 2 covers 1914 to 1939 – the years which marked a break in the traditional monetary arrangements of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part 3 covers 1939-1986 when the dominance of state influence within the domestic money markets was re-established by the Second World War and the acceptance by the authorities of the obligation to ‘manage’ the economy which meant that successive postwar governments took direct responsibility for the conduct of monetary and credit policy.

Surveys the major developments in British banking over the past century and a half, examining changes in the economy and legislation and showing how banks attained their present key positions.