Share holders

J Hoontrakul made this Freedom of Information request to Bank of England

The request was partially successful.

From: J Hoontrakul

9 October 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Does the Bank of England have share holders?

If the bank does have share holders who are they?

If the Bank of England has share holders do they get paid
dividends, and what was the value of dividends paid in the past
five years?

Does any of the policy and/or decision makers within the Bank of
England hold positions of any kind in any commercial banks or
companies?

If so who are they and what commercial entity do they hold
positions in, and in what capacity/position do they hold in both
the commercial entity and the Bank of England?

Does the Bank of England have "Member Banks" and if so which banks
are these?

Yours faithfully,

J Hoontrakul

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From: Enquiries
Bank of England

12 October 2009

We acknowledge receipt of your e-mail dated 9 October (our ref FF 23575).

We will reply in due course.

If you have any queries please contact the Bank's Public Information and Enquiries Group on 020 7601 4878.

Public Information and Enquiries Group
Bank of England

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From: Enquiries
Bank of England

6 November 2009

Dear Mr Hoontrakul

Thank you for your email dated 9 October in which you ask the following questions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('FoI Act'):

'Does the Bank of England have shareholders? If the Bank does have share holders who are they?'

The Bank of England is the central bank of the whole of the UK and was established as a corporate body by Royal Charter under the Bank of England Act 1694. The Bank was nationalised on 1 March 1946, and gained operational independence to set interest rates in 1997. The Bank is a public sector institution wholly-owned by the government - the entire capital of the Bank is, in fact, held by the Treasury solicitor on behalf of HM Treasury.

'If the Bank of England has share holders do they get paid dividends, and what was the value of dividends paid in the past five years?'

The Bank of England Act 1946, as amended by the Bank of England Act 1998, requires the Bank to pay to HM Treasury, in lieu of dividend on the Bank's capital, on the fifth day of April and October (or prior working day), a sum equal to 25% of the Bank's post-tax profit for the previous financial year or such other sum as the Bank and HM Treasury may agree. The overall effect is that the Bank and HM Treasury will normally share post-tax profits equally. Further information can be found in the Bank's Annual Report and Accounts which are available on our website at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/ann... back to 2001.

'Does any of the policy and/or decision makers within the Bank of England hold positions of any kind in any commercial banks or companies? If so who are they and what commercial entity do they hold positions in, and in what capacity/position do they hold in both the commercial entity and the Bank of England?'

The Bank's Court of Directors (Governor, two Deputy Governors and nine non-executive directors) is responsible for managing the affairs of the Bank, other than the formulation of monetary policy. External positions held by members of Court are published on our website at www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/cou...

The Governors and executive management do not hold positions in commercial banks or companies outside their duties for the Bank of England.

For further information on the Bank's governance framework please visit our website at www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/governance...

'Does the Bank of England have 'Member Banks' and if so which banks are these?' The Bank of England is the central bank of the UK and does not have any member banks.

Yours sincerely

Stuart Allen
Deputy Secretary of the Bank

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