Danmarks Nationalbank (in Danish often simply ''Nationalbanken'') 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 centra ...

of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

. It is a non-

eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

member of 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 ...

( ESCB). Since its establishment in 1818, the objective of the Nationalbank as an independent and credible institution is to issue the Danish currency, the krone, and ensure its stability. The Board of Governors holds full responsibility for the

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for federal funds, very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money s ...

. The building which houses the bank's headquarters was designed by the renowned architect

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...

, in collaboration with Hans Dissing and Otto Weitling. After Jacobsen's death, his office, renamed Dissing+Weitling, has brought the construction to completion. Danmarks Nationalbank undertakes all functions related to the management of the Danish central-government debt. The division of responsibility is set out in an agreement between the

Ministry of Finance of Denmark The Ministry of Finance of Denmark (Danish: Finansministeriet) is a ministry in the Government of Denmark. Among other things, it is in charge of the government budget (subject to approval by the Danish parliament, ''Folketinget''), paying govern ...

and Danmarks Nationalbank. Danish and Faroese

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s were previously printed at Danmarks Nationalbank's Banknote Printing Works. This practice came to an end 20 December 2016, after which the printing of banknotes has been outsourced due to a reduced demand for cash, and cut in expenses of 100 million kroner until 2020.

History

The bank was established on 1 August 1818 by King

Frederick VI of Denmark Frederick VI ( Danish and no, Frederik; 28 January 17683 December 1839) was King of Denmark from 13 March 1808 to 3 December 1839 and King of Norway from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814, making him the last king of Denmark–Norway. From 1784 ...

. The private bank was given a 90-year monopoly on currency issue, which was extended in 1907 out to 1938. In 1914, the National Bank became the sole banker for the Danish government. The bank became fully independent of the government in 1936.

Board of Governors

The Board of Governors consists of three members. The Chairman of the Board of Governors is Governor by Royal Appointment. The two other Governors are appointed by the Board of Directors. ;List of Royal Governors: * 1818–1818:

Christian Klingberg Christian Klingberg (16 December 1765 – 9 February 1821) was a Danish Supreme Court attorney and chief legal officer of the Danish Asiatic Company. Early life and education Klingberg was born on 16 December 1765 in Copenhagen, the son of lotte ...

* 1835–1856:

Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt (27 October 1777 – 16 March 1856) was a Danish merchant and politician. His trading house mainly traded on the Danish West Indies. He was also part of the management of the marine insurance company De private Assurandeure ...

* 1821–1861:

Nicolai Aagesen Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the surname ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (crater), a crater on the Moon See also * Niccolai, a surname * Nicolae (disambiguation) * Nicolao * ...

* 1836–1845:

Peter Georg Bang Peter Georg Bang (7 October 1797 – 2 April 1861) was a Danish politician and jurist. He served as the Prime Minister of Denmark 1854–1856. Biography Bang was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His parents were Jacob Hansen Bang (1770-1841) ...

* 1856–1861: Hans Peter Hansen * 1861–1892:

Moritz Levy Moritz is the German equivalent of the name Maurice. It may refer to: People Given name * Saint Maurice, also called Saint Moritz, the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century * Prince Moritz of Hesse (2007), the son o ...

* 1868–1888:

Wilhelm Sponneck Wilhelm Carl Eppingen Sponneck (16 February 1815 – 29 February 1888) was a Danish nobleman (''rigsgreve'') and Minister of Finance. He was influential in Danish customs affairs for several years. Biography Wilhelm Carl Eppingen Sponneck wa ...

* 1869–1896:

Stephan Linnemann Stephan may refer to: * Stephan, South Dakota, United States * Stephan (given name), a masculine given name * Stephan (surname), a Breton-language surname See also * Sankt-Stephan * Stefan (disambiguation) * Stephan-Oterma * Stephani * Stephe ...

* 1873–1887: W.J.A. Ussing * 1873–1896:

F.C. Smidt FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

* 1887–1888:

Carl Vilhelm Lange Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

* 1896–1913:

Søren Christian Knudtzon Søren (, ) or Sören (, ) is a Scandinavian given name that is sometimes Anglicized as Soren. The name is derived from that of the 4th-century Christian saint Severin of Cologne,Portal Rheinische Geschichte"Severin (circa 330-400), Heiliger und ...

* 1888–1913: Rasmus Strøm * 1896–1906:

Johannes Nellemann Johannes Magnus Valdemar Nellemann (1 November 1831 – 26 August 1906) was a Danish lawyer and politician, a member of the Højre political party. He was Minister of Justice and Minister for Iceland from 1875 to 1896. Biography Nellemann ...

* 1907–1924: Jens Peter Winther * 1908–1908:

Ole Hansen Ole Hansen may refer to: * Ole Hansen (politician) (1855–1928), Danish politician * Ole Hansen (officer) (1842–1922), Norwegian army officer * Ole Christoffer Heieren Hansen (born 1987), Norwegian footballer * Ole Jacob Hansen (1940–2000), ...

* 1908–1920: Johannes Lauridsen * 1913–1939: Westy Stephensen * 1914–1923: Marcus Rubin * 1914–1924: Carl Ussing * 1920–1923: Jens Peter Dalsgaard * 1923–1931: Holmer Green * 1923–1936: Hans Rosenkrantz * 1924–1932: Jakob Kristian Lindberg * 1925–1936: Frederik Carl Gram Schrøder * 1935–1955: Ove Jepsen * 1936–1949: C.V. Bramsnæs * 1939–1957: Henning Haugen-Johansen * 1949–1950: Holger Koed * 1950–1963: Svend Nielsen * 1956–1963: Siegfried Hartogsohn * 1957–1985: Frede Sunesen * 1963–1985: Svend Andersen * 1965–1994: Erik Hoffmeyer * 1980–1996: Ole Thomasen * 1982–1990: Richard Mikkelsen * 1991–2005: Bodil Nyboe Andersen * 1995–2010: Jens Thomsen * 1996–2011: Torben Nielsen * 2005–2013:

Nils Bernstein Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas. People and animals with the given name * Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player *Nils Björk (1898–1989) ...

* 2011–: Per Callesen * 2011–: Hugo Frey Jensen * 2013–:

Lars Rohde Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel". A homonymous Etruscan name was b ...

Logo

The official logo of the bank is a nineteenth-century version of Denmark's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

showing the insignia of Denmark,

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

, and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. The two latter provinces were lost in the 1864

Second War of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...

, and the bank is the only official Danish institution still using this insignia. Since the late 19th century, coins minted by the bank carry a

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

-shaped

mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It should not be confused with a mintmaster mark which is the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate ...

. Before this time, the Mint used a mark showing the royal crown.

References

External links

* {{Denmark topics Arne Jacobsen buildings Buildings and structures completed in 1970 Economy of Denmark Banks of Denmark Central banks Banknote printing companies European System of Central Banks Modernist architecture in Copenhagen Banks established in 1818 1818 establishments in Denmark Currencies of the Kingdom of Denmark Bank buildings in Copenhagen Listed bank buildings in Denmark