Consisting of four nations, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom is a world renowned financial and business centre. A member of the European Union since 1974, the UK has retained its own currency, the pound sterling, and talks of adopting the euro appear to have subsided as monetary policy has turned to addressing the causes and effects of the current economic crisis. The UK authorities have been proactive in providing support for the country’s ailing banking system, cutting interest rates to 0.5%, their lowest ever level, and embarking on a quantitative easing programme.