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The old lady of Threadneedle Street may soon lose her moniker under plans by the Bank of England to remove gendered language from documentation.

Under proposals by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which regulates banks and insurers, a chairman will become chair.

It also wants to change how individuals are addressed in terms of "his/her".

The alterations are part of changes to the PRA's certification documents for people working in financial services.

The watchdog also proposes changing its terminology from "grandfather/ing" - which allows an old rule to be used while a new rule governs future cases - to "conversion".

It said that the changes to the "Senior Managers and Certification Regime" "form part of the PRA's commitment to encourage equality and diversity at regulated firms".

Image copyright Bank of England Image caption Professor Silvana Tenreyro is the only female member of the Bank's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee

The Bank has faced criticism for its lack of senior female managers and the fact that most banknotes feature famous men on the back rather than women.

In March, Charlotte Hogg, who was set to become a Bank of England deputy governor, resigned after failing to disclose that her brother worked at Barclays.

Ms Hogg had failed to reveal the potential conflict of interest.

Pay gap

The Bank has also come under pressure from MPs to close its gender pay gap.

In October, Treasury committee chair Nicky Morgan wrote to the chancellor asking about efforts being made to encourage gender and ethnic diversity at the Bank.

Male staff at the Bank are paid almost a quarter more than female employees, its latest gender pay gap report found.