Victoria Cleland | |
---|---|
Chief Cashier of the Bank of England | |
In office March 2014 –1 June 2018 | |
Preceded by | Chris Salmon |
Succeeded by | Sarah John |
Personal details | |
Born | February 26,1970 |
Victoria Mary Florence Cleland (born 26 February 1970) [1] was the Director for Banknotes and Chief Cashier of the Bank of England,a position she held from March 2014 until 1 June 2018 when was replaced by Sarah John (the third woman to be named as Chief Cashier). [2] She is the second woman to hold the post of Chief Cashier. She replaced Chris Salmon when he was appointed as Executive Director for Markets at the Bank of England.
Cleland studied philosophy,politics and economics at the University of Oxford and was sponsored by the bank for an MBA at Imperial College,London. [3]
Cleland has worked for the bank for about 20 years having first tried accountancy as a career. Her first role at the bank was in a department dealing with the financing of small businesses,followed by work in the wholesale market supervision division after which she moved to deal with graduate recruitment. [3]
Cleland worked for three years on financial stability after which she set up the "special resolutions" section which dealt with banks at risk of failure following the recent financial crisis. She was closely involved with the Northern Rock nationalisation. [3]
Cleland was Head of Notes from March 2010 [4] and has been Director for Banknotes and Chief Cashier from March 2014. In that role,Cleland was primarily responsible for ensuring that banks had the right amount and type of notes available at all times. She was also responsible for measures to prevent forgery and the controversial matter of the design of new notes. [3] In 2013,Cleland received,on behalf of the Bank of England,a petition organised by Caroline Criado Perez to keep a woman on the reverse of Bank of England banknotes. To date,other than the portrait of H.M. The Queen on the obverse of all Bank of England notes,Jane Austen on the reverse of the current polymer £10 note is the third historical woman depicted on a Bank of England note. The previous two historical women were Elizabeth Fry on the last paper £5 note from 2002 until May 2017 and Florence Nightingale on the £10 from 1975 until 1994. [5]
As Chief Cashier,Cleland's signature appeared on all Bank of England banknotes.
Victoria Cleland was present at Spink London on 3 October 2016 for the charity auction of Bank of England banknotes,all bearing her signature as Chief Cashier. The auction consisted of first-run prefixes and low serial numbered banknotes of all denominations but was primarily timed to coincide with the recent launch and high demand amongst collectors for the new polymer £5 banknote. The lowest numbered polymer £5 banknote available to the general public was AA01 000017. This was sold for £4,150 with Cleland opening the charity auction and acting as auctioneer for this first lot. This was the fourth charity auction instigated by the Bank of England and the first for banknotes issued under Cleland as Chief Cashier.
Cleland has been a trustee of the Royal London Society for Blind People since 2012. [6]
In February 2018,during an interview with The Guardian ,Cleland revealed that she does not use contactless payment cards,in part because she was yet to fully trust the technology. Cleland pointed out that this was a personal opinion and not the official view of the Bank of England. [7]
A banknote—also called a bill,paper money,or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note,made by a bank or other licensed authority,payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commercial banks,which were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the market served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks or monetary authorities.
Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the United Kingdom and its related territories,denominated in pounds sterling.
Clydesdale Bank is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland.
Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes,including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknotes last significantly longer than paper notes,causing a decrease in environmental impact and a reduced cost of production and replacement. Modern polymer banknotes were first developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA),Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and The University of Melbourne. They were first issued as currency in Australia during 1988;by 1996,the Australian dollar was switched completely to polymer banknotes. Romania was the first country in Europe to issue a plastic note in 1999 and became the third country after Australia and New Zealand to fully convert to polymer by 2003.
The Bank of England,which is now the central bank of the United Kingdom,British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories,has issued banknotes since 1694. In 1921 the Bank of England gained a legal monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales,a process that started with the Bank Charter Act of 1844 when the ability of other banks to issue notes was restricted.
Banknotes of Scotland are the banknotes of the pound sterling that are issued by three Scottish retail banks and in circulation in Scotland. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009,which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated,and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009. Currently,three retail banks are allowed to print notes for circulation in Scotland:Bank of Scotland,Royal Bank of Scotland,and Clydesdale Bank.
The Chief Cashier of the Bank of England 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 Frontier series is the seventh series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar released by the Bank of Canada,first circulated in 2011. The polymer banknotes were designed for increased durability and to incorporate more security features over the preceding 2001 Canadian Journey series. The notes feature images that focus on historic Canadian achievements and innovation. Printed on polymer,the 2011 Frontier series was the first series issued by the Bank of Canada printed on a material other than paper. The 2011 Frontier series was followed by the 2018 series.
Caroline Emma Criado Perez is a British feminist author,journalist and activist. Her first national campaign,the Women's Room project,aimed to increase the presence of female experts in the media. She opposed the removal of the only woman from British banknotes,leading to the Bank of England's swift announcement that the image of Jane Austen would appear on the £10 note by 2017. That campaign led to sustained harassment on the social networking website Twitter of Criado Perez and other women;as a result,Twitter announced plans to improve its complaint procedures. Her most recent campaign was for a sculpture of a woman in Parliament Square;the statue of Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in April 2018,as part of the centenary celebrations of the winning of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. Her 2019 book Invisible Women:Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men was a Sunday Times bestseller.
Chris Salmon was Executive Director,Markets at the Bank of England. Between 2011 and 2014 he was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England. The signature of the Chief Cashier appears on British banknotes. Salmon was succeeded as Chief Cashier by Victoria Cleland.
Merlyn Vivienne Lowther was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England from 1999 to 2003. She was the first woman to hold the post. The signature of the Chief Cashier appears on Bank of England banknotes. Lowther was succeeded by Andrew Bailey.
Graham Edward Alfred Kentfield was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England from 1991 to 1998. The signature of the Chief Cashier appears on British banknotes. Kentfield was replaced as Chief Cashier by Merlyn Lowther.
The Bank of England £5 note,also known as a fiver,is a sterling banknote. It is the smallest denomination of banknote currently issued by the Bank of England. In September 2016,a new polymer note was introduced,featuring the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a portrait of Winston Churchill on the reverse. The old paper note,first issued in 2002 and bearing the image of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the reverse,was phased out and ceased to be legal tender after 5 May 2017.
The Bank of England £10 note,also known informally as a tenner,is a sterling banknote. It is the second-lowest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of England. The current polymer note,first issued in 2017,bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and the image of author Jane Austen on the reverse. The final cotton paper note featuring a portrait of naturalist Charles Darwin,first issued in 2000,was withdrawn from circulation on 1 March 2018.
The Bank of England £20 note is a sterling banknote. It is the second-highest denomination of banknote currently issued by the Bank of England. The current polymer note,first issued on 20 February 2020,bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and the image of painter J. M. W. Turner on the reverse. It replaced the cotton paper note featuring a portrait of economist Adam Smith,first issued in 2007.
The Bank of England £50 note is a sterling banknote. It is the highest denomination of banknote currently issued for public circulation by the Bank of England. The current note,the first of this denomination to be printed in polymer,entered circulation on 23 June 2021. It bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and computer scientist and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing on the reverse,with his birth date reflecting the release date. Cotton £50 notes from the previous series remained in circulation alongside the new polymer notes until 30 September 2022,when the last 'paper' banknote issue finally ceased to be legal tender.
The Bank of England £1 note was a sterling banknote. After the ten shilling note was withdrawn in 1970,it became the smallest denomination note issued by the Bank of England. The one pound note was issued by the Bank of England for the first time in 1797 and continued to be printed until 1984. The note was withdrawn in 1988 due to inflation and was replaced by a coin.
The Clydesdale Bank £10 note,also known informally as a tenner,is a sterling banknote. It is the second smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Clydesdale Bank. The current polymer note,first issued in 2017,bears an image of Scottish poet Robert Burns on the obverse and a vignette of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh on the reverse.
The statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square,London,honours the British suffragist leader and social campaigner Dame Millicent Fawcett. It was made in 2018 by Gillian Wearing. Following a campaign and petition by the activist Caroline Criado Perez,the statue's creation was endorsed by both the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,Theresa May,and the Mayor of London,Sadiq Khan. The statue,Parliament Square's first monument to a woman and also its first sculpture by a woman,was funded through the government's Centenary Fund,which marks 100 years since some women won the right to vote. The memorial was unveiled on 24 April 2018.
The Bank of England £100,000,000 note,also referred to as Titan,is a non-circulating Bank of England sterling banknote used to back the value of Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes. It is the highest denomination of banknote printed by the Bank of England. As both of these regions have their own currency issued by particular local banks,the non-circulating notes provide the essential link between those currencies and that of England,and security if a local issuing bank were to fail.