Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • September 2018
09

A career at the Bank of England

Open-access content Wednesday 5th September 2018 — updated 5.50pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

Ruth Hendon and Vanessa Leung provide insight into opportunities for actuaries within the Bank of England, and what it is like to work in the 300-year-old institution.

2


You may think of the Bank of England as a fusty, old-fashioned place - and the imposing stone building at the heart of the City of London might do little to change your impression. Behind the front door, however, you will find a modern, flexible and increasingly diverse workplace with plenty of opportunities for actuaries. 

Within the Bank, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) regulates and supervises financial services firms. The Life Insurance and Pensions Risk Division is home to around 40 actuaries, trainees and other risk specialists, and there's an equivalent division of general insurance risk specialists. These two divisions provide actuarial and technical support to supervision.  

Actuaries in these areas assess the range of prudential risks that could affect insurers and the pension schemes of firms. We give advice on business transactions and capital modelling, and also research, analyse and set technical industry standards. There's lots of interaction with firms, both directly and via industry bodies and events. A typical day might involve holding an in-depth discussion with specialists in a firm's capital modelling team, interviewing a CRO or feeding into an internal working group that is considering a particular area, such as credit or longevity risk. As you might guess, reviewing Solvency II (SII) applications also features prominently on our to-do lists.

The research done by actuaries at the Bank often leads to collaboration with other areas, for example banking risk specialists or economists in the monetary analysis or financial stability areas. This ensures we get insight from different perspectives. In return, actuaries support the Bank's macro-economic analysis by estimating the impact of different economic scenarios or monetary policies on insurers and pension funds.  

There are also actuarial opportunities outside of firm supervision. Actuaries in the Insurance Policy Division played a lead role in the negotiation of SII, working with colleagues from around Europe to thrash out the details of everything, from the internal model tests and standards to the calibration of the standard formula and the design of the matching adjustment. Having the chance to shape new areas of regulation is a real privilege, as well as a big responsibility. Actuaries in policy roles need to find imaginative solutions that are politically workable as well as technically sound, often under time pressure and in the face of many conflicting points of view. It can be stressful, but when you have supportive, bright and creative colleagues around you to share ideas with, it can also be highly rewarding. 

Two-and-a-half years into the application of SII, as firms' business models evolve, the actuaries in the insurance policy area of the Bank continue to lead on tackling the policy and implementation questions facing the sector. There is life beyond SII as well - for example, some actuaries are working on climate risk, while others are helping to develop the Insurance Capital Standard, intended to apply to internationally active insurance groups. 

As in any busy organisation, pressurised periods do happen, but they are eased by a collaborative and supportive culture. This is essential to the success of our flexible working policy - more than 20% of staff work on a part-time basis, and there is a really diverse range of working patterns here, including at senior levels. The Bank starts from the presumption that most roles can be done flexibly, and is doing more to promote options such as job-sharing.

The Bank also encourages all staff to work across boundaries, and the breadth of its responsibilities means there's plenty of scope for actuaries to apply their skills in wider areas. Those looking for an actuarial role that's different from the norm, with the added benefits of flexible working and the potential to branch out, should certainly consider the Bank of England. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has some modern ideas - and plenty of work for actuaries.

Ruth Hendon is a life insurance actuary working at the Bank of England 

Vanessa Leung is a life insurance actuary working at the Bank of England 

This article appeared in our September 2018 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

5 p32_iStock-165720082-[Converted]-2

A profession fit for the future

Charles Cowling describes how the actuarial profession is moving forward, with recent initiatives at the IFoA helping to ensure it maintains its relevance and sustainability.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content
iStock-875363878

Get comfortable with selling

In a competitive industry, actuaries need to know how to sell themselves. John Scarrott advises reframing your anxieties around the issue.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content
2

IFRS 17: sharing the load

Trevor Howes discusses why International Financial Reporting Standard 17 is a joint actuarial and accounting responsibility – from start to finish.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content
2

September: routes to the top

In the third instalment of our Routes to the Top series, more senior executives speak with Bradley Shearer about the paths their careers have taken, and offer advice on how to progress in our own professional lives.
Tuesday 4th September 2018
Open-access content
2

Student: right here, right now

A recent wedding has made Joseph Mills consider the benefits of acting in the present – not just planning for the future.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content
2

A helping hand: supporting developing countries

Evie Calcutt considers the actuary’s role in helping developing countries to build decision-making capacity for financial protection against disasters.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content

Latest from Investment

KV

Liability-driven investments: new landscape

What now for liability-driven investments, after last year’s crash in the market? Pensions experts Rakesh Girdharlal and Moiz Khan say it should lead to a more balanced approach
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
cj

Natural capital investing

Chris Howells and Andrew Dreaneen discuss how today’s investments in natural capital profit portfolios as well as the planet and humanity
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
t

Options open on making portfolios more climate-friendly

Michael Sher sets out the option savailable to investors who are looking to improve their portfolios’ climate credentials
Wednesday 2nd November 2022
Open-access content

Latest from Careers

yguk

Is anybody out there?

There’s no point speaking if no one hears you. Effective communication starts with silence – this is the understated art of listening, says Tan Suee Chieh
Thursday 2nd March 2023
Open-access content
ih

Actuary and… police officer

In a new feature highlighting the wide-ranging pursuits actuaries do outside their day job, we meet Reema Uppal, who trained with the Met
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content
Web-city-at-dusk-shutterstock_549687475.jpg

Rising in the East

Head of business acceptance and chief pricing actuary, Asia Pacific, SCOR, Hong Kong, CHINA
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content

Latest from Professional

dxf

Bespoke tailoring: the UK government’s proposed reforms to Solvency II

Vrishti Goel discusses the UK government’s proposed reforms to Solvency II
Wednesday 31st August 2022
Open-access content
Financial services seen as most desirable sector for career changers

Financial services seen as most desirable sector for career changers

Over a third of UK workers will look to start a new career in the next year due to the cost-of-living crisis, with financial services seen as the joint most desirable sector, KPMG research suggests.
Wednesday 24th August 2022
Open-access content
web_p43_Student_student_july_2_CREDIT_Simon-Scarsbrook.jpg

Three’s a charm: the next iteration of the internet

Adeetya Tantia explains what we can expect from the next iteration of the internet, and how it could shake up the insurance industry
Wednesday 6th July 2022
Open-access content

Latest from Old categories - do not use

2

FTSE 350 pension deficits plummet

The UK's largest listed companies have seen their pension deficits fall by almost a third over the last year, with nearly half of schemes now running a surplus.
Wednesday 14th August 2019
Open-access content
2

Women save just one-third of what men do for retirement

Women in the UK typically save less than one-third of what their male counterparts do for retirement, research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has uncovered.
Monday 29th July 2019
Open-access content
2

TPR to scrutinise pension superfunds

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will scrutinise all defined benefit (DB) superfunds looking to enter the market while the government develops a new authorisation system.
Tuesday 11th December 2018
Open-access content

Latest from September 2018

september-2018.jpg

September 2018 - digital edition

September 2018 - digital edition
Thursday 11th October 2018
Open-access content
2

Insurers and banks prevent eight in ten cyber attacks this year

Insurance companies and banks have significantly improved their resilience to cyber attacks this year, with approximately eight in ten breaches successfully thwarted worldwide.
Tuesday 2nd October 2018
Open-access content
2

Optimism plummets in UK's financial services sector

The UK’s financial services sector reported a sharp decline in optimism over the last three months, with sentiment deteriorating in all but one quarter since the start of 2016.
Monday 1st October 2018
Open-access content

Latest from small_opening_image

2

COVID-19 forum for actuaries launched

A forum for actuaries has been launched to help the profession come together and learn how best to respond to the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Travel insurers expect record payouts this year

UK travel insurers expect to pay a record £275m to customers this year as coronavirus grounds flights across the world, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Grim economic forecasts made as countries lockdown

A sharp recession is imminent in the vast majority of developed and emerging economies as the deadly coronavirus forces businesses to shut down across the world.
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Open-access content

Latest from 09

2

Internal Model Documentation - A Quick Glance

Jennifer Khaleghy and Ashish Kwatra break down the key documents involved in an IMAP application.
Monday 24th September 2018
Open-access content
2

Interview: Louise Pryor

Louise Pryor speaks with Stephen Hyams about climate risk, models and the future direction of the actuarial role.
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Open-access content
2

Foundations for growth in Asia

Rapid economic development in Asia means its relatively untapped infrastructure market is starting to attract interest from investors, writes Dalila Atiqah Hashim.
Tuesday 4th September 2018
Open-access content
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Reinsurance Pricing, Bermuda - World-leading Reinsurer

Bermuda (BM)
Outstanding package in a low tax environment
Reference
148937

Senior P&C Consultant (Non-life) – Bermuda Consultancy

Up to $130,000
Reference
148925

P&C Manager (Non-life) - Cayman Islands

Up to $190,000
Reference
148924
See all jobs »
 
 
 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ