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The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC; km, ធនាគារជាតិនៃកម្ពុជា, translit=Thônéakéar Chéatĕ ney Kâmpŭchéa) 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
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
. The bank's duties include, ''inter alia'', the management of monetary and exchange policies, the regulation of banks and financial institutions, and the control of the national currency, the riel. The bank was established in 1954 after the Indochina Printing Institution closed when Cambodia obtained its independence from France. During
Democratic Kampuchea Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...
from 1975 to 1979, the whole financial system ceased to exist, but the central bank was re-established in October 1979. The National Bank of Cambodia was known as the "Red Bank" or "Banque Rouge", and "People's National Bank of Kampuchea" from 1979 to 1992.


History


Creation of a national bank for Cambodia after independence

The National Bank of Cambodia was established on 23 December 1954, after the country gained its independence from the French Protectorate and after the Institut d’Emission, the printing house for the three Indochinese countries, was closed. At its inception, the bank emitted the national '' riel'' currency with a
gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
of a weight of 25.3905 milligrams of fine gold secured by the assets in gold and foreign currencies by the National Bank of Cambodia itself. It thus served an important role as a mixed-economy entreprise of the
Sangkum The Sangkum Reastr Niyum ( km, សង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម, , ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Langu ...
. The
Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vi ...
fragilized the Cambodian banking system and on 28 October 1971, the National Bank ordered the commercial banks to suspend all foreign exchange operations in a vain attempt to establish a "flexible" rate for the riel, which value totally collapsed as the
United States dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
became the ''de facto'' currency.


Destruction of the Khmer Rouge

The National Bank of Cambodia was one of the two buildings along with the Cathedral of Phnom Penh which was systematically destroyed by the
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
indicated their two main enemies: capitalism and religion. Only ruins remained of the National Bank of Cambodia following the explosion set off by the Khmer Rouge during the
fall of Phnom Penh The Fall of Phnom Penh was the capture of Phnom Penh, capital of the Khmer Republic (in present-day Cambodia), by the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, effectively ending the Cambodian Civil War. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of th ...
on 17 April 1975.


Creating a bank in a communist regime under Vietnamese occupation

In an ironic turn of events, the communist regime set up after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, the
People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the Kam ...
, was to reintroduce the use of currency as well as reestablish the capitalist banking system. Since the main office of the National Bank of Cambodia had been demolished by the Khmer Rouge, the temporary head office of the bank was opened on the upper floor of the Khmer Bank of Commerce with credits from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Through the 1980s, the Central Bank of Cambodia performed both central and commercial bank functions.


Restoration of the monarchy and the national bank to its glory

In 1990, the gravels that were left from the old building were removed in order to build a new central bank for Cambodia. Gradually the banking system was strengthened and modernized as democracy and
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...
returned to Cambodia after the 1993 general election. The building was renovated once more in 2003 and is now building new headquarters at the same location.


Board of Directors

The governing body of the Central Bank is the Board of Directors. The board consists of seven members: the governor, the deputy governor, and five other members, one representing the head of government, one representing the Ministry of Economy and Finance, one representing economic activities, one representing higher education, and one representing the staff of the Central Bank. The board is headed by the governor.


Branches

The National Bank of Cambodia has its main headquarters in Phnom Penh as well as 21 branches in various provinces of the country


See also

*
Cambodian riel The riel (; km, រៀល, riĕl ; sign: ៛; code: KHR) is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currency ...
* List of banks in Cambodia *
Economy of Cambodia The economy of Cambodia ( km, សេដ្ឋកិច្ចនៃកម្ពុជា ) currently follows an open market system (market economy) and has seen rapid economic progress in the last decade. Cambodia had a GDP of $24.57 billion in 20 ...
*
Ministry of Economy and Finance (Cambodia) The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF; km, ក្រសួងសេដ្ឋកិច្ចនិងហិរញ្ញវត្ថុ) accounts for the administration of financial and economic policy and affair in the Kingdom of Cambodia. In ac ...
* Chea Serey


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:National Bank Of Cambodia Government of Cambodia Economy of Cambodia
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
Banks of Cambodia 1954 establishments in Cambodia Banks established in 1954 Companies based in Phnom Penh