Finance

The Bank of England

The Banks of England and Scotland were founded by the London–based Scottish trader William Paterson, in		1694
First Governor of the Bank of England (1694–7)		Sir John Houblon

The first Chief Cashier of the Bank of England was John Kendrick. Appointed on 30 July 1694, he was replaced later that year by Thomas Speed.

		Chief Cashier			Governor
2018–		Sarah John	2020–		Andrew Bailey
2014–18		Victoria Cleland	2013–20		Mark Carney
2011–14		Chris Salmon	2003–13		Mervyn King
2004–11		Andrew Bailey	1993–2003		Sir Edward (Eddie) George
1999–2004		Merlyn Lowther	1983–1993		Robin Leigh–Pemberton
1992–1999		G. A. Kentfield	1973–1983		Gordon Richardson
1988–1992		G. M. Gill	1966–1973		Sir Leslie O'Brien
1980–1988		D. H. F. Somerset	1961–1966		George Rowland Stanley Baring, Earl of Cromer
1971–1980		J. B. Page	1949–1961		Cameron F. Cobbold, Baron Cobbold of Knebworth
1967–1971		J. S. Fforde	1944–1949		Thomas F. Catto, Baron Catto of Cairncatto
1962–1967		J. Q. Hollom	1920–1944		Montagu Collet Norman
1955–1962		L. K. O'Brien
1950–1955		P. S. Beale
1934–1950		K. O. Peppiatt

Finance Ministers' forums

The original Group of Six (G6) – formed 1975

USA, UK, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan

Joined the Group of Six (G6) in 1976 to form the Group of Seven (G7)		Canada
Joined the Group of Seven (G7) in 1997 to form the Group of Eight (G8)		Russia

The Euro

The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on (date)		1 January 1999
Euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on		1 January 2002

VAT in the UK

Replaced by VAT in 1973		Purchase Tax
The initial rate of VAT in the UK (1973)		10%
Reduced to 8%		July 1974
25% rate introduced for petrol		November 1974
Petrol rate reduced to 12.5%		1976
Rate unified at 15% under Thatcher		1979
Standard rate increased to 17.5%		1991
Domestic fuel and power first (controversially) becomes liable, at 8%		1994
Standard rate increased to 20%; reduced rate of 5%, principally for domestic fuel and power, introduced		2011

Bulls and Bears

Stock market speculator who buys shares hoping that prices will fall (so they will be cheaper by the time he has to pay for them)		Bear
Stock market speculator who buys shares hoping that prices will rise		Bull

People

First President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ('the marble bank') – 1991–3: French economist		Jacques Attali
American businessman, investor and philanthropist, born 1930: nicknamed the Wizard, Oracle or Sage of Omaha (his birthplace)		Warren Buffett
French politician: Managing Director of the IMF, 2011–19, 4th President of the European Central Bank, 2019 to date; the first woman to hold either post		Christine Lagarde
US financier, said to have made over $1bn profit at the expense of the UK government, on 'Black Wednesday' in 1992 (when sterling fell out of the EMS)		George Soros

Other

An affluent individual who provides capital for a business start–up – a term originally used in respect of Broadway theatre productions			Angel
All Ordinaries (established 1980): stock exchange index of			Australia
French Stock Exchange			La Bourse
1944 agreement that led to the foundation of the IMF			Breton Woods
Known in the USA as 'Savings & Loans'			Building Societies
Insurance: an Actuary's function is to			Calculate premiums
The principal French share index			CAC 40
Lloyd's of London opened in 1686 as a			Coffee house
Interest calculated on interest already accrued as well as capital			Compound interest
Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch are the 'Big Three' in			Credit rating
A moderate recovery of a stock following a spectacular fall – a colloquial expression that originated on Wall Street in the 1980s			Dead cat bounce
Principal Frankfurt share index			Deutscher Aktien Index (DAX)
New York share index (average price of selected securities)			Dow Jones Average
The first company to issue stocks and bonds (Amsterdam 1602)			Dutch East India Co.
US central bank (equivalent of the Bank of England)			Federal Reserve System
Market in which commodities and currencies are traded for delivery on a specified date			Futures
'Bad money drives out good'			Gresham's Law
Hong Kong share index			Hang Seng
Distinctly non–PC term, used informally on the London Stock Exchange to refer to South African mining shares			Kaffirs
Drawing cheques on committed funds, assuming account will be replenished before cheque is presented			Kiting (kite–flying)
Bell rung at Lloyd's of London before an important announcement			Lutine Bell
Amount of money in circulation – coins, banknotes, current accounts			M1
US financial aid to Europe after WWII			Marshall Plan
Halfway between a dealer's buying and selling prices			Middle price
The Italian Stock Exchange is in			Milan
The official interest rate charged by the Bank of England, between 1971 and 1981 – below which it would not lend money; replaced in 1981 by the less formal "base rate"			Minimum Lending Rate
A situation where your debts amount to more than your assets (particularly if your house is mortgaged for more than it's worth)			Negative equity
Tokyo's two major share indexes			Nikkei
			Topix
The collection of securities held by an investor			Portfolio
Retail and market district of Venice, and hence a similar district in any Italian city			Rialto
A tax levied on documents – the oldest tax still levied by the UK's HMRC; introduced in 1694, attempts to levy it in the American colonies were a major cause of the War of Independence; technically abolished for transfers of land (including houses) in 2003, but replaced by an equivalent tax; still applies to transfers of certificated shares (as with land, an equivalent tax applies to transfers of uncertificated shares and other securities)			Stamp Duty
Multi–million pound London Stock Exchange computerisation scheme cancelled in 1993			Taurus
Low–cost life assurance, only pays if insured dies in named period			Term insurance
Financial centre of New York			Wall Street
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: popular name			World Bank

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22