Bank Charter Act 1844
The Bank Charter Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 32), sometimes referred to as the Peel Banking Act of 1844, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which restricted the powers of British banks and gave exclusive note-issuing powers to the central Bank of England. It is one of the Bank of England Acts 1694 to 1892. Purpose Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks in Britain and Ireland were able to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation. Under the 1844 Act, bullionism was institutionalized in Britain, creating a ratio between the gold reserves held by the Bank of England and the notes that the Bank could issue, and limited the issuance by English and Welsh banks of non-gold-backed Bank of England notes to up to £14 million. The Act also placed strict curbs on the issuance of notes by the country banks, barring any new "banks of issue" in any part of the United Kingdom and thus beginning the process of centralizing banknote issuance. The Act was a victory for the British Currency School, who argued that the issue of