He became a director of the Bank of England in 1907 and during World War I he was a financial advisor to government departments. He was appointed Deputy Governor in 1917 and he became Governor in 1920. Under Norman, the bank underwent significant change. He was a supporter of the gold standard, which he called "knaveproof", but nevertheless in 1931 the United Kingdom permanently abandoned it, at which point the bank's foreign exchange and gold reserves were transferred to the British Treasury.