Banco de Portugal

History

Foundation

Queen Maria II of Portugal established the bank by royal charter 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, at the time the Portuguese real, which it continued producing until 1911.

Republic

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

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.

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 European System of Central Banks, which was founded in June 1998.

The Banco de Portugal ceased emission of the Portuguese Escudo in 1999, with the country's adoption of the Euro.

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 Espírito Santo, by splitting the bank in two. During the bank restructure, one of the lenders, Oak Finance, had its loan liabilities remain with Banco Espírito Santo. This triggered a lawsuit from a group of investors including: hedge funds and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.{{cite news |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323004530/http://www.swfinstitute.org/swf-article/sovereign-wealth-fund-takes-legal-action-against-banco-de-portugal-over-costly-debt-transfer/ |archive-date=23 March 2015 |url-status=dead

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. Central bank governors are proposed by the finance minister and nominated by the cabinet for a five-year term and can be reappointed once.

References

References

1. (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks".
2. (3 October 2025). "New Bank of Portugal governor to take over on Monday".
3. "National supervisors".
4. "Members and Observers".
5. "National Resolution Authorities".
6. ({{date). "List of ESRB Members and National Macroprudential Authorities".
7. "Banco de Portugal entrega 359 milhões ao Estado em dividendos após forte subida nos lucros".
8. "Banco de Portugal vai dar 202 milhões em dividendos ao Estado - Expresso.pt".
9. "Governors past and present".
10. Sérgio Gonçalves (18 July 2025), [https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/portugal-decide-next-week-future-central-bank-chief-2025-07-18/ Portugal to decide next week on future of central bank chief] ''[[Reuters]]''.