Bank of England was the second issuing bank in Europe after the Swedish State Bank. It was the first to start operating as a central bank, thus establishing standards in this respect, later adopted by others. However, the British did not follow any theoretical principles slavishly. In day-to-day practice, they were prepared to modify them depending on the requirements of time and place. Hence the differences between not only the banking systems of the English-speaking Commonwealth countries and Britain, but also the different parts of the United Kingdom. The most fundamental of these is the fact that the Bank of England was established at the early stage of the development of England's banking system, while the other central banks were created against the backdrop of a well developed banking systems of their respective countries.