The role of the Bank of England - Part 1: Money

Keeping on an even keel: the role of the Bank of England is a short film that uses nautical metaphors and animation to explain the Bank's roles and responsibilities in an accessible, imaginative and entertaining way.

The film is divided into seven short modules, which provide a simple guide to the Bank's monetary policy and financial stability roles. They explain why low inflation and a safe and stable financial system matter to the UK economy and how the Bank contributes to achieving them.

Part 1 looks at money.

Bitcoin Still Confuses Bankers

From Bloomberg View –

“Bitcoin, the poster child for digital currencies, is proving something of a headache for central banks. Should they ban it, regulate it, embrace it, undermine it or just ignore it? Their best bet would be to let Darwinism take its course, and resist the regulatory impulse to interfere with either Bitcoin's survival or demise. And, if it lives, they should step aside and celebrate innovation rather than try to block its progress.

Bitcoin has always posed a challenge to central bankers' exclusive power to mint money, but it's never been clear how the official guardians of monetary stability would respond to it. Reports published in recent weeks by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England suggest they're scrambling to keep all of their options open. Schizophrenia is setting in.”

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What we are reading … 13th March 2013

Hackers hit Reserve Bank of Australia http://www.finextra.com/News/FullStory.aspx?newsitemid=24620

PayPal releases new mobile SDK; kicks off $100,000 global hackathon http://dld.bz/cpJ2s

Should Banks Charge Fees For Check Writing? http://bit.ly/ZmcsI8

Dutch retailers get cashless 'thank you' http://www.finextra.com/News/FullStory.aspx?newsitemid=24616

Bank of England and financiers 'set for showdown over balance sheets' http://dld.bz/cpJ2n

Britain Urged to Split Banks if New Rules Fail http://twb.io/13PsFeI

Find Out Your Financial Institution's Social Media Power Ranking http://bit.ly/ZvVqY3

Top Quotes from SWIFT Operations Forum Americas 2013 http://twb.io/15CFrvo

Stress Tests Don't Mean Banks Are OK http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-07/stress-tests-don-t-mean-banks-are-ok.html

History of Central Banking - The Federal Reserve and the Great Depression

Tom Cunningham, vice president, senior economist, and regional executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, gives an economist's view of the early history of central banking in the United States. Here he speaks about the The Federal Reserve and the Great Depression.

History of Central Banking - Creation of the Federal Reserve System

Tom Cunningham, vice president, senior economist, and regional executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, gives an economist's view of the early history of central banking in the United States. In this video he discusses the creation of the Federal Reserve System.