The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, serving as the blueprint on which many modern central banks were based. Its statutory mandate is to maintain monetary and financial stability, which includes setting the official bank rate, regulating financial institutions, and issuing banknotes. Founded in 1694 as a private institution to act as the government's banker and debt manager, it was nationalised in 1946 and gained operational independence for monetary policy in 1997.