The Chief Cashier is the person responsible for issuing banknotes at the Bank of England and is the director of the divisions which provide the Bank of England's banking infrastructure. This person is known to the general public because since 1870 the Chief Cashier's signature is printed on all bank notes issued by the Bank of England. In 2004 a new post was created, Executive Director of Banking & Chief Cashier, incorporating the title.
The post is currently held by Chris Salmon who was appointed on 1 April, 2011. He is the 31st Chief Cashier since the Bank was founded in 1694.
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- The security and effective operation of real time gross settlement in the UK’s high value payment systems (CHAPS and CREST).
- Along with the Bank’s Sterling Markets Division he is also responsible for the provision of liquidity to the market and settlement banks.
- The issuing and effective distribution of banknotes and their security against counterfeiting.
- The provision of banking services, focusing on high-value government banking.
The Executive Director Banking & Chief Cashier is a member of the Governor’s Executive Team which is the Bank’s senior management group. [1]
In 1694 the Bank of England was established, almost immediately the Bank started to issue notes in return for deposits. The crucial feature that made Bank of England notes a means of exchange was the promise to pay the bearer the sum of the note on demand. This meant that the note could be redeemed at the Bank for gold or coinage by anyone presenting it for payment; if it was not redeemed in full, it was endorsed with the amount withdrawn. These notes were initially handwritten on Bank paper and signed by one of the Bank’s cashiers.
During the 18th century there was a gradual move toward fixed denomination notes. In 1725 the Bank started issuing partly printed notes for completion in manuscript. The £ sign and the first digit were printed but the cashier’s signature along with the name of the payee and other numerals were added by hand.
The first fully printed notes appeared in 1855 relieving the cashiers of the task of filling in the name of the payee and signing each note individually. The practice of writing the name of the Chief Cashier as the payee on notes was halted in favour of the anonymous “I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of …”, a feature that has remained unchanged on notes to this day. The printed signature on the note continued to be that of one of three cashiers until 1870, since then it has always been that of the Chief Cashier. [2]
Listed below are the names of people who have held the post of Chief Cashier at the Bank of England: [3]
1694 John Kendrick
1694 - 1699 Thomas Speed
1699 - 1739 Thomas Madockes
1739 - 1751 James Collier and Daniel Race (jointly)
1751 - 1759 Daniel Race and Elias Simes (jointly)
1759 - 1775 Daniel Race
1775 - 1777 Charles Jewson
1778 - 1807 Abraham Newland
1807 - 1829 Henry Hase
1829 - 1835 Thomas Rippon
1835 - 1864 Matthew Marshall
1864 - 1866 William Miller
1866 - 1873 George Forbes
1873 - 1893 Frank May
1893 - 1902 Horace Bowen
1902 - 1918 Gordon Nairne
1918 - 1925 Ernest Harvey
1925 - 1929 Cyril Patrick Mahon
1929 - 1934 Basil Catterns
1934 - 1949 Kenneth Peppiatt
1949 - 1955 Percival Beale
1955 - 1962 Leslie O'Brien
1962 - 1966 Jasper Hollom
1966 - 1970 John Fforde
1970 - 1980 John Page
1980 - 1988 David Somerset
1988 - 1991 Malcolm Gill
1991 - 1998 Graham Kentfield
1999 - 2003 Merlyn Lowther
2004 - 2011 Andrew Bailey
2011 - Present Chris Salmon