The Bank of England and Basel Committee 1974–1989

This book presents the first historical study of how the Bank of England shaped the early development of international banking supervision during a period of profound economic and regulatory change. Drawing on extensive archival research across the Bank of England Archives, The UK National Archives, the Bank for International Settlements, and European and private-sector collections, the book reconstructs the emergence of global supervisory cooperation from the 1970s through the late 1980s. The volume traces the evolution of prudential policy, the growth of macro-prudential thinking, and the interplay between national sovereignty and the push for international coordination. It provides detailed examinations of the Bank of England’s supervisory practices, the formulation and revision of the UK Banking Acts of 1979 and 1987, the early Basel Committee negotiations, and the parallel development of European Community banking directives. Further chapters illuminate private-sector perspectives and offer a comparative analysis of supervisory systems in France, Germany, the United States, and Japan. Combining financial history, political economy, and the history of central banking, this study brings clarity to the origins of global banking supervision and demonstrates how British regulatory approaches influenced both European harmonisation and the Basel process. It will serve scholars of banking supervision, financial regulation, international monetary cooperation, and modern economic governance.