The Bank of the Republic of Haiti (, abbreviated BRH) is the
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
of
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. It was formed in 1979 from the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti (), which had served as the country's bank of issue since 1910, itself succeeding the
National Bank of Haiti.
The bank is active in promoting
financial inclusion
Financial inclusion is the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to processes by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services—which ...
policy and is a member institution of th
Alliance for Financial Inclusion It recently announced a
Maya Declaration Commitment to continue with the modernization of the payment system, and submit legislation to regulate and supervise micro finance institutions to relevant authorities in 2013.
The central bank in
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
was stormed during the
Haitian riots of 2024. The attack was driven back by the bank's security guards leaving 3 people killed.
Background
The oldest reference to a bank in Haiti can be attributed to a short correspondence exchanged during September 1825 between a foreign tradesman, Nicholas Kane, the Secretary of State Balthazar Inginac about a proposal made by George Clark in the name of a German group, Hermann Hendrick and Co., to establish a bank in Haiti. However, the proposal was never accepted, and Hermann Hendrick and Co. was never established.
A Haitian law of 1880 allowed for a currency issuance concession to be granted to a privileged bank, and the
National Bank of Haiti was subsequently established in Paris in early 1881 by the French bank
Crédit Industriel et Commercial. In October 1910, the issuance concession was transferred to a new bank, the
National Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BNRH) formed by a consortium of French, German and American interests. The
National City Bank of New York
Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
took over the BNRH following the
United States occupation of Haiti
The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 United States Marine Corps, US Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Republic of Haiti (1859–1957), Haiti, after the Citibank, National City Bank of New York convinced the ...
, and gained full ownership in 1919. In 1935, the Haitian government acquired the BNRH from National City Bank. In 1979, BNRH was split into two financial institutions: the (BNC), a commercial bank, and the Bank of the Republic of Haiti.
Governors
*
Antonio André, September 1979 - July 1980
*
Gérard Martineau, July 1980 - February 1982
*
Marcel Léger, February 1982 - July 1982
*
Antonio André, July 1982 - April 1983
*
Allan Nolté, April 1983 - June 1985
*
Jean Claude Sanon, June 1985 - February 1986
*
Onill Millet, February 1986 - June 1988
*
Hubert Cameau, administrator, June 1988 - August 1988
*
Joseph Lagroue, director, August 1988 - September 1988
*
Ernest Ricot, September 1988 - June 1989
*
Jacques Vilgrain, June 1989 - March 1990
*
Serge Pothel, March 1990 - August 1990
*
Charles Beaulieu, August 1990 - April 1991
*
Roger Pérodin, April 1991 - December 1991
*
Bonivert Claude, December 1991 - October 1994
*
Roger Pérodin, October 1994 - December 1994
*
Leslie Delatour, December 1994 - February 1998
*
Fritz Jean, February 1998 - August 2001
*
Venel Joseph, August 2001 - April 2004
*
Raymond Magloire, April 2004 - September 2007
*
Charles Castel, September 2007 - December 2015
*
Jean Baden Dubois, December 2015 - October 2023
*Ronald Gabriel, October 2023 - current
See also
*
Economy of Haiti
*
Haitian gourde
*
List of central banks
This is a list of central banks.
Central banks by alphabetical order
This is a list of central banks. Countries that are only partially recognized internationally are marked with an asterisk (*).
Major central banks by currency allocation p ...
References
External links
Official site of Bank of the Republic of Haiti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of the Republic of Haiti
Banks of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
Economy of Haiti
1979 establishments in Haiti
Banks established in 1979