1. Experts Answer YOUR questions!
My name is Andrew Grice and I am a Senior Manager, Customer Banking Division at the Bank of England. My job includes running the gold vaults here at the Bank where over 400,000 bars worth around £160billion are stored for our customers.

Q) Did people who worked in the Bank of England lose their jobs in 2008?
From entertaining_tangerine at St Gregory's Catholic Primary School
A) The financial crisis didn’t cause anyone at the Bank of England to lose their jobs. In fact, following the crisis the Bank took on lots of new responsibilities which before the crisis were carried out by other organisations. For example, following the crisis a new part of the Bank of England was created, called the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is responsible for making sure that banks follow the new rules which have been drawn up to keep them safe.
As a result of this expansion, the number of people that work here has actually increased considerably. There are now more than 4,000 people employed at the Bank. Many of us work at the Bank’s headquarters in Threadneedle Street in London, but we also have staff at based across the United Kingdom, including in our network of Agencies which are the Bank’s ‘eyes and ears’ in every part of the country.
Q) How secure is the banking system? What if somebody had happened to hack in unpredictably, would this result in residents of England losing their money and what would happen to our economy?
From openminded_skill at Elaine Primary School
A) Banks and building societies are some of the safest organisations in the world. The Bank of England tries to make sure that all the banks which make payments have secure computer systems and that if there are faults these are fixed quickly. Sometimes this can mean people cannot make payments from their bank account, so we ask the banks where there are faults why this has happened and what they will do to stop this from happening again.
The Bank of England makes sure the “payment systems” – the connections and “pipes” which allow money to be transferred is are also secure. One way of doing this is to “test” the system to see if someone is able to “hack” into it (called a “Penetration test”). The Bank has devised a framework to ensure systems remain available - this is called CBEST and is part of something called “financial sector continuity.” You can find out more about this at https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-sector-continuity
The Bank of England tries to make sure that banks have sufficient money available (called “capital”) to meet unexpected losses and are able to carry on providing banking services. We ensure that people’s money is guaranteed through something called the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, even if it is stolen (up to a limit of £85,000).
Hi, I'm Sam Woods, Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation. I’m the guy in the video! I am charge of the part of the Bank of England that regulates banks, building societies and insurance companies.

Q) Could the financial crisis happen again? If so what steps could the Government take to prevent it?
From optimistic_moon at Notley Green Primary School
A) We certainly hope not! But it would be a brave person who says we will never have another crisis that affects the economy. There have been many crises throughout history, some dating back hundreds of years. So the chances are there will be another one at some point in the future. But it’s unlikely to look exactly the same as the crisis of 2008. That is partly because the Bank of England and other organisations like us around the world have taken lots of steps to address some of the key causes.
For example, we have set new rules for the banks which mean they have to put more money aside so they are able to stay in business should things start to go wrong. We’ve made lots of other changes too, including new rules on bankers’ pay. You can learn more about these changes on our Knowledge Bank website.
We think that, overall, the system is now safer, simpler and fairer than it was before. But one of the jobs of the committee that I sit on is to look out for what might cause the next crisis. The problems might start in the banking sector again or be caused by something else like a cyberattack or a big computer failure.
It’s important to remember that the Bank of England, where I work, has different jobs to the government. Although the Bank is owned by the government, we operate independently of each other. But we both play an important role in the economy.
During the financial crisis the government took over some of the banks that got into trouble to stop them collapsing. One of the aims of the changes we have made since the crisis is to avoid the government having to do that again, because it was taxpayers who paid the price when that happened.
Comments (41)
22 Nov 2018
What banks are the bank of England in charge of?
all the banks
The Bank of England are in charge of all other banks. They lend money to banks low on money and are run by the goverment
The banks of England 's in charged of all the other banks. Think of it like this. First, government they have more than £100,000,000 worth of gold. Only used for a financial crisis. Secondly, the bank of England they lend money to the other banks. Then the bank bosses who give permission to the separate bankers. Second to last, the separate bankers who give loans to the people. Finally, the people who asks for the loans. They ask loans from the bank then pay it back.
22 Nov 2018
Do you think it is fair that people have to owe more money back then they borrowed. For example, if someone borrowed £10,000, they would have to pay £10,500 back but is that fair for them?
No it isn't fair bit in the end of the day the bank are giving money and they need something back and then they hope that all of the people are learning that you should use your money wisely and never borrow money because you have to at more back good point you made
Wouldn't be fair because people might not have the money to pay or they can pay it and be in debt
22 Nov 2018
Why do government make England bankers have to give you taxes?
22 Nov 2018
Why do you give money to the other banks across London?
26 Nov 2018
How secure is the banking system? What if somebody had happened to hack in unpredictably, would this result in residents of England losing their money and what would happen to our economy?
27 Nov 2018
How did the bank of England make sure that the systems could not be hacked into?Do the bank of England have vaults full of money or do they keep the money somewhere else.
27 Nov 2018
How can we stop the financial crisis from happening again?
27 Nov 2018
Hello!
I was wondering how would you notice if a financial crisis is going to start
27 Nov 2018
How did the financial crisis end?
27 Nov 2018
Why do banks make you pay extra money when you borrow money?
They make you pay extra money so they can make interest, so that's how they make more money.
28 Nov 2018
to be honest no bank should make you pay more money for borrowing money its really weird please somebody comment on this comment please would mean a lot thanks
Banks are businesses. They make money by charging this extra amount when you pay back a loan. People also pay the bank some money to have some bank accounts.
29 Nov 2018
thanks for the advice
29 Nov 2018
In my opinion i don't feel that it is right for the bank to lend us money and have to pay more than what we borrowed it shouldn't happen but if u can't trust yourself with a credit card don t get one simple as
29 Nov 2018
To what extent did well-intentioned policies designed to encourage the expansion of homeownership contribute to a relaxation of lending standards and people buying houses they could not and would never be able to afford? If so, which specific policies contributed to this problem?
03 Dec 2018
Hi Andrew, I'm glad to hear that Englands money is secure and safe, as well as that it's good to hear that the Bank of England can transferr money to other banks safely and that the building in general is safe.
05 Dec 2018
How and who would spot another financial crisis? For example would there be any signs to look out for?
07 Dec 2018
Can people say no I dont want the money you give me
07 Dec 2018
Have you ever been in the Bank of England vault that is full of gold bars? If you have then has anyone that works there attempted to steal any of them?
07 Dec 2018
Would you think that it might be some of the Government’s fault that there was the financial crisis because they didn’t set strict rules for the Bank of England?
07 Dec 2018
why did the financial crisis effect us and how
The financial crisis effected us in 2007, though in 2006 housing prices fell and many predicted there to be a financial difficulty. I believe that it came from America as a fair amount of our trades are from that area.
thanks for answering me
10 Dec 2018
Would the government be the fault of the crisis as they didn't set up the banks correctly?
11 Dec 2018
Do you have to lend money to everyone ? And what is the limit of money that can be lender ?
13 Dec 2018
Who stopped the financial crisis
14 Dec 2018
Do you think that it would be fair that somebody had like 100,000 pound and other people in the world had only 100 pound answer me if you think it's fair or not fair and why.
14 Dec 2018
If so just comment down below please
i think it would be and wont be because some people work for their money but the person with the £100 could of spent all of their money on stuff like Christmas presents or funiture etc. Another reason is that the person with more money could of been rich.
18 Dec 2018
Was the bank of England the first of its kind?
And what are the rules, which the bank of England make, do banks need to follow?
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain. I don't know if that will help you but that's what I found out!
Thanks. I will try and find out more
18 Dec 2018
What would happen if all the banks ran out of money?
If we didn't have a gov and we were still in 2008 and all the banks ran out of money, how would the banks take money from the gov if he or she wasn't there and who would they rely on?
22 Dec 2018
How much did the financial crisis cost the UK ?
Around 3,000 pounds for everyone in the UK. However prices may be different in other areas and countries
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