The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world (the oldest being the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden), established in 1668). It was established to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for HM Government. The Bank was privately owned and operated from its foundation in 1694. It was subordinated to the Treasury after 1931 in making policy and was nationalised in 1946.

In 1998, it became an independent public organisation, wholly owned by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the Government, with independence in setting monetary policy.

The Bank is one of eight banks authorised to issue banknotes in the United Kingdom, but has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales and regulates the issue of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU; 株式会社三菱東京UFJ銀行, Kabushiki kaisha mitsubishi tōkyō yūefujei ginkō^?) is the largest bank in Japan, which was established on January 1, 2006, with the merger of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and UFJ Bank Ltd. The bank serves as the core retail and commercial banking arm of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

As at 31 October 2010 BTMU was ranked by Bloomberg as the largest bank in Japan and the eighth largest in the world.

The bank's head office is in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, with 772 other offices in Japan and 76 offices overseas.

BTMU dates back to 1880 as the Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. (株式会社三菱銀行, Kabushiki kaisha mitsubishi ginkō^?) was founded by former samurai Iwasaki Yatarō, and was a core member of Mitsubishi Group companies. Also, in 1880, the Yokohama Specie Bank was established, which was the forerunner of the Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. (株式会社東京銀行, Kabushiki kaisha tōkyō ginkō^?), established in 1945 with most of Yokohama Specie Bank's assets. In April 1996, the Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. and the Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. merged into the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. (株式会社東京三菱銀行, Kabushiki kaisha tōkyō mitsubishi ginkō^?), becoming the world's largest bank in terms of total assets.

Mark J. Carney (born March 16, 1965) is the eighth and current governor of the Bank of Canada and the Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, an institution of the G20 based in Basel, Switzerland. These appointments were on October 4, 2007 (for a seven-year term), and on November 4, 2011 (for a three-year term). Carney achieved these positions by working his way up the ranks of Goldman Sachs, the Canadian Department of Finance, and the Bank of Canada as Deputy Governor. Carney has been credited with shielding Canada from the worst effects of the late-2000s financial crisis, and has earned recognition by the Financial Times and TIME magazine as a top figure in the financial world.

Mark Carney was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. His father Bob was a high school principal there, and later a professor of education at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, where the family moved when Carney was six years old. Carney has three siblings — older brother Sean, younger brother Brian and sister Brenda. His mother Verlie was an elementary school teacher before having her children. Carney and his brothers all studied at Harvard University.

George Gideon Oliver Osborne,MP (born 23 May 1971 in Paddington, London) is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.

Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in Ireland as the Ascendancy. He is the heir to the Osborne baronetcy (of Ballentaylor, in County Tipperary, and Ballylemon, in County Waterford).

He was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalen College, University of Oxford, before entering politics.

Osborne is the eldest of four sons. His father, Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet, co-founded the firm of fabric and wallpapers designers Osborne & Little. His mother is Felicity Alexandra Loxton-Peacock, the daughter of artist Lady Clarisse Loxton Peacock.

Originally named Gideon Oliver, he changed his name to George when he was 13. In an interview in July 2005, Osborne said: "It was my small act of rebellion. I never liked it. When I finally told my mother she said, 'Nor do I'. So I decided to be George after my grandfather, who was a war hero. Life was easier as a George; it was a straightforward name."