Which 1844 British law required the Bank of England to separate note issuance from banking operations?

The Bank Charter Act 1844 required the Bank of England to separate its note-issuing department from its banking department.

The law was passed under Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel's government and reflected the monetary ideas of the Currency School. It placed limits on the amount of banknotes that could be issued without gold or other approved backing and transferred note-issuing privileges away from many smaller English banks.

The act was intended to make the currency more stable and restrict excessive note creation. However, its rules had to be suspended during major financial crises, including the banking panic of 1847 and later crises in 1857 and 1866.

The legislation did not create the Bank of England; that institution had been founded in 1694. It also did not end all banking instability. Its importance lies in reshaping note issue, centralizing currency authority, and influencing later debates about central banking and monetary regulation.