Banco de Portugal

The Banco de Portugal (, lit. 'Bank of Portugal') is the national central bank for Portugal within the Eurosystem. It was the Portuguese central bank from 1846 to 1998, issuing the escudo. It was founded by royal charter in 1846, during the reign of Queen Maria II of Portugal, by a merger of the Banco de Lisboa, the first bank founded in Portugal, and insurer Companhia Confiança Nacional.

The bank has branch offices in Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Funchal, Leiria, Porto (Caixa Filial) and Viseu.

In addition to its monetary role, the Banco de Portugal is also a financial supervisory authority. In that capacity, it increasingly implements policies set at the European Union level. It is the national competent authority for Portugal within European Banking Supervision.[3] It is a voting member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA).[4] It is Portugal's designated National Resolution Authority and plenary session member of the Single Resolution Board (SRB).[5]

History

Foundation

Queen Maria II of Portugal established the bank by royal charter on 19 November 1846 to act as a commercial bank and issuing bank. It came about as the result of a merger of the Banco de Lisboa, the first bank founded in Portugal, and the Companhia de Confiança Nacional, an investment company specialised in the financing of the public debt.

The bank was designated by the Portuguese Crown as the emitter of legal tender, at the time the Portuguese real, which it continued producing until 1911.

Republic

Following the Implementation of the Republic in 1910, the Banco de Portugal began to emit the Portuguese Escudo.

In 1932, the bank established the Biblioteca do Banco de Portugal, one of the most significant private libraries in Portugal.

In 1946, the institution was bestowed the honor of Grand Cross of the Order of Christ by the President of Portugal.

During the Estado Novo, the bank pursued a vigorous policy of gold acquisition starting in 1957, which has contributed towards Portugal's present-day status of having the 14th largest gold reserve in the world.

Nationalization

Following its nationalisation in September 1974 and its new Organic Law (1975), the Banco de Portugal was, for the first time, responsible for the supervision of the banking system.

It is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks, which was founded in June 1998.

The Banco de Portugal ceased emission of the Portuguese Escudo in 1999, with the country's adoption of the Euro.

Contemporary

In 2013, the bank announced that it would pay €359 million in dividends, referring to the year of 2012.[7]

In 2014, the bank announced that it would pay €202 million in dividends, referring to the year of 2013, representing a steep decline in comparison to 2012.[8]

In August 2014, Banco de Portugal announced it was restructuring Portugal's second biggest bank, Banco Espírito Santo, by splitting the bank in two. During the bank restructure, one of the lenders, Oak Finance, had its loan liabilities remain with Banco Espírito Santo. This triggered a lawsuit from a group of investors including: hedge funds and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.[9]

headquarters	Lisbon
coordinates	38.70873°N, -9.13815°W
established	November 19, 1846
ownership	100% state ownership‡R1R‡
reserves	11 405 million USD‡R1R‡
executive title	Governor
executive	Álvaro Santos Pereira‡R2R‡
bank of	Portugal
website	www.bportugal.pt/en
predecessor	Banco de Lisboa Companhia de Confiança Nacional
successor	European Central Bank (1999)1
footnotes	1 The Bank of Portugal still exists but many functions have been taken over by the ECB.

History

Foundation

Republic

Nationalization

Contemporary

Governors

See also

External links

References