In the past year those promises have become realities with the statutory Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) formally joining the Bank. The question now is how we use our powers to fulfil our responsibilities. In response, the Bank of England is today launching a transformative strategic plan to fulfil its broader mission. We have a new leadership team. We are setting out fifteen initiatives to reshape the institution. Behind that plan is a vision for the Bank that I want to set out this evening. It is: A Bank with many and varied responsibilities, but a single timeless mission; An institution that works as One Bank to exploit the synergies and complementarities across our policy functions; A Bank that draws on its long history of intellectual leadership and international engagement to shape an open, resilient global system; And a Bank that builds on the immense successes of the past quarter century in combining clear objectives, good governance and constructive transparency. A single timeless mission Let me begin by asking a simple question: what is the Bank of England for? The Bank’s founding charter of 1694 explains that its original purpose was to “promote the publick Good and Benefit of our People…”. What that meant in practice at the time was  1  “The fight against inflation” was the title of Geoffrey Howe’s 1981 lecture.
The model used for monetary policy of decisions being made by a committee made up of both Bank of England executives and independent experts has been expanded to financial stability with the creation of both a Financial Policy Committee and a Board of Prudential Regulation. As I have argued, those policy committees will be more effective if they have access to the broadest range of the Bank’s analysis and information and are as well informed as possible about each other’s reaction function. The now very wide range of the Bank’s responsibilities also creates a need to strengthen the oversight arrangements for the Bank as a whole. For delivery of our statutory objectives, the Bank is accountable to the public, through Parliament’s Treasury Committee. That accountability is being reinforced. Parliament has created an Oversight Committee of 8 non-executives who are in the Bank but not of the Bank. The Government has today announced the appointment of Anthony Habgood to lead the Bank’s Court of Directors and the Oversight Committee. I welcome the appointment of someone of his depth and breadth of corporate experience. Independent oversight by the committee he will chair can strengthen the Bank’s legitimacy and effectiveness. The Oversight Committee has access to internal papers, is able to observe meetings of policy committees, and is responsible for reviewing all aspects of the conduct of the Executive of the Bank, including the delivery of policy, the design of and adherence to rigorous processes and procedures, and the monitoring of our transparency and openness.