Bank of the Republic (Colombia)

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Bank of the Republic (Colombia)
Banco de la Republica


Logo of the Bank of the Republic	Headquarters of the Banco de la Republica, in Bogotá, Colombia

Headquarters

Bogotá, Colombia

General Manager

José Darío Uribe

Central Bank of

Colombia

Currency

Colombian peso

ISO 4217 Code

COP

Website

banrep.gov.co

The Banco de la Republica (Spanish for Bank of the Republic is the central bank of the Republic of Colombia. Their main function are detailed by the Congress according to the Ley 31 de 1992. One of them is the issue the Colombian currency, the peso.

1 History
2 Building
3 Culture
4 External links

[edit] History

There are at least three predecessor to the current Bank. The first national bank was created in 1880, named the Banco Nacional, and their functions include handle the state funds, issue the Colombian currency and give loans to the state. In 1894 the Congress close the bank due to registered excesses in the currency issue. In 1905 was created the Banco Central de Colombia, which was closed in 1909 for identical reasons.

In 1923, after several years of financial crisis President Pedro Nel Ospina requested a expert committee to study Colombian economic reality. This committee, led by American economist Edwin Walter Kemmerer (know as The Money Doctor) was know as the Mission Kemmerer. Kemmerer had already worked with Latin American governments (like Mexico in 1917 and Guatemala in 1919) and help the Colombian government to create the Bank of the Republic and the Contraloria General de la Republica, and to structurate the laws for this function using those who already exist. After his work in Colombia, Kemmerer do the same for other governments, like Chile in 1925, Ecuador in 1926 and Peru in 1931.

The bank was officially created by the Law 25 of July 25, 1923, 5 days after the 113 anniversary of the Independency of Colombia. With a capital of 10 million in gold, the 50% provided by the government and the rest by foreign and national commercial banks. Their role as a banker or banks include:

Act as a State Bank
Control the issue of the Colombian currency, the Colombian peso
Receive foreign credits and make loans to the Government and private banks
Manage the financial policy of the country
Regulate the exchange rate between the peso and other currency

The Board of Directors was created by the same law, with 10 members from private and public sectors of economy with the power to do regulatory and monetary controls. The Board was also given the responsibility of establishing the discount rate and intervening to control interest rates.

[edit] Building

The headquarters of the Bank of the Republic are located in Bogotá, in the historical center of the city (Calle 11 No. 4-21) and a few blocks away from the Gold Museum and the Luis Ángel Arango Library. Along with the Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia bunker, is one of the most secure building in the country, with several security levels required to access different areas. The security is handled by private companies and the Colombian National Police, armed with Colombian-made MAC-10 submachine guns, among others. Most of the administrative areas of the bank are located above ground, in a 12-floors building. Below the street there is a heavy guarded area where money in different currency is located, and in a special vault the country`s reserve of gold.

[edit] Culture

Beside their primary roles in the Colombian economy, the Bank of The Republic have the control over two important institutions in Colombian culture: the Gold Museum and the Luis Ángel Arango Library.