The Banco de Portugal (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Bank of Portugal) is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

of the

Portuguese Republic Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the ...

. The bank was founded by royal charter in 1846, during the reign of Queen

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

, by a merger of the '' Banco de Lisboa'' (Bank of Lisbon), the first bank founded in Portugal, and the ''Companhia Confiança Nacional'' (National Insurance Company), making it one of the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world. It is a full member of the

Eurosystem The Eurosystem is the monetary authority of the eurozone, the collective of European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. The European Central Bank (ECB) has, under Article 16 of its Statute,

and the

European System of Central Banks The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is an institution that comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Its objective is to ensure price stability t ...

History

Foundation

Queen

established the bank by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

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 Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...

, at the time the

Portuguese real The ''real'' (, meaning "royal", plural: ''réis'' or rchaic''reais'') was the unit of currency of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire from around 1430 until 1911. It replaced the '' dinheiro'' at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself ...

, which it continued producing until 1911.

Republic

Banco de Portugal, Avenida dos Aliados, Porto

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

Portuguese Escudo The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as w ...

. 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 The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

. 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

, which was founded in June 1998. The Banco de Portugal ceased emission of the

in 1999, with the country's adoption of the

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Contemporary

In 2013, the bank announced that it would pay €359 million in dividends, referring to the year of 2012. 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. In August 2014, Banco de Portugal announced it was restructuring Portugal's second biggest bank,

Banco Espirito Santo Banco may refer to: Places * Banc (Barcelona Metro), also called Banco, a closed metro stop on the Barcelona metro * Banco, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Banco, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Banco National Park, a nationa ...

, by splitting the bank in two. During the bank restructure, one of the lenders, Oak Finance, had its loan liabilities remain with

. This triggered a lawsuit from a group of investors including: hedge funds and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

Governors

Prior to 1887, the Banco de Portugal was governed by a chairman of the board. Since then, the administration has been entrusted to the governor of the Banco de Portugal.

References

External links

Official website of Banco de Portugal

Lista de Bancos em Portugal

Banco Central Europeu
{{Central banks

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Economy of Portugal Banks of Portugal Banks established in 1846 1846 establishments in Portugal