The Bank of Mauritius is the central bank of the Republic of Mauritius. It was established in September 1967 as the central bank of Mauritius. It was modelled on the Bank of England and was, in effect, set up with the assistance of senior officers of the Bank of England.
Amongst its responsibilities is the issuance of the Mauritian currency, the Mauritian rupee.
History
Previous namesake institutions
In the 19th Century three separate commercial banks, now all defunct, operated under the Bank of Mauritius name.
The first Bank of Mauritius started operations in 1813 or so, but survived only until 1825.
The second Bank of Mauritius was a British overseas bank with two boards of directors, one in London and the other in Port Louis. It began operations in 1832 and favored the interests of the planter class. In 1838 traders established Mauritius Commercial Bank to give themselves an alternative source of credit as until its establishment the Bank of Mauritius had a monopoly on the island. The financial crisis of 1847 in London resulted in the collapse of the sugar market, and severe losses to both of Mauritius's banks.