Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɐ̃ku nɐsiuˈnaɫ uɫtɾɐmɐˈɾinu]; Chinese: 大西洋銀行; English: National Overseas Bank) was a Portuguese bank with operations throughout the world, especially in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased existence as an independent legal entity in Portugal following its merger with Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the government-owned savings bank, in 2001.
The Bank continues operations today under the Banco Nacional Ultramarino brand in the Chinese SAR of Macau, a former Portuguese colony, where it is also licensed to issue Macanese pataca banknotes.
Timeline
- 1864 - Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) was established in Lisbon, Portugal, as a bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories
- 1865 - BNU opened branches in Luanda, Angola and Praia, Cabo Verde.
- 1868 - The bank opened branches in São Tomé and Príncipe, Goa, and Mozambique.
- 1901 - BNU lost its banking monopoly, but retained its monopoly note-issuing monopoly in the countries in which BNU operated.
- 1902 - BNU opened branches in Macau and in Bolama, Portuguese Guinea (present-day Guinea-Bissau).
- 1912 - BNU opened branches opened in Dili, East Timor (present-day Timor Leste, and in Brazil.
- 1919 - BNU established a representative office in Stanleyville and a branch in Paris.
- 1920 - BNU established a representative office in Bombay.
- 1926 - BNU lost its note-issuing monopoly in Angola with creation of Banco de Angola. BNU transferred its branch in Stanleyville to Banco de Angola.[1]
- 1929 - BNU established Anglo-Portuguese Colonial and Overseas Bank, its subsidiary in London, and converted its branch in Paris to a subsidiary, Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer.
- 1952 - BNU closed its branches in India.
- 1965 - BNU, Banco Português do Atlântico, Banco de Angola, and the South African company, General Mining and Finance, founded Bank of Lisbon and South Africa. This was later renamed Mercantile Lisbon Bank.
- 1970s - BNU bought a stake in Banque Interatlantique in Luxembourg.
- 1970s - BNU established a representative office in London.
- 1974 - The Portuguese government nationalized BNU, following the Carnation Revolution.
- 1975 BNU's interests in Mozambique were nationalized and renamed Banco de Moçambique.
- BNU's interests in São Tomé and Príncipe were nationalized and renamed National Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe. In 1993, the government split National Bank into a central bank, Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, and a commercial bank, Banco Internacional de Sao Tome e Principe.
- BNU's interests in Cape Verde were nationalized and renamed Bank of Cape Verde. In 1993, the government spun off the commercial banking operations into a new bank, Banco Comercial do Atlantico.
- 1988 - Portuguese Government-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos became the majority shareholder of BNU, with the Republic of Portugal the sole other shareholder.
- 1991 - BNU opened a branch in London.
- 1993 - BNU opened a branch in Zhuhai, a Special Economic Zone of China.
- 1993 - Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) became the majority shareholder in Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer. In 2002, CGD closed the bank by merging its operations into CGD's branch in Paris.
- 1995 - The Chinese government confirmed that BNU would remain a note issuer in Macao until at least 2010.
- 1999 - BNU opened representative offices in Mumbai and Panjim (Goa), and a branch in Dili, Timor Leste.
- 2000 - BNU reached an agreement with the Administration of Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, under which BNU remains an Agent of the Treasury.
- 2001 - BNU and Caixa Geral de Depósitos merged through incorporation of BNU into Caixa Geral de Depósitos; Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer became a branch of Caixa Geral; on July 1, 2000, the Macau branch of Banco Nacional Ultramarino became a bank incorporated in Macau SAR under the name Banco Nacional Ultramarino S.A., but remained wholly owned subsidiary of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, retaining until 2010 its functions as a note issuer and Agent of the Treasury.
- 2002 - Caixa Geral acquired majority ownership of Mercantile Lisbon Bank in South Africa, which is now Mercantile Bank.
Banknotes
The Monetary Authority of Macao has authorized two banks to issue banknotes denominated in Macanese pataca, the Bank of China and Banco Nacional Ultramarino S.A., CGD's subsidiary in Macau.[2][3] Owing to Macau's Portuguese colonial past, the languages on the banknotes features Portuguese as well as Chinese.
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino introduced its first pataca notes in 1906, in denominations of 1, 5, 50 and 100 pataca. The next year it introduced 10 and 25 pataca notes. The BNU began to issue lower-value notes with 5, 10 and 50 avo notes in 1920, and 1 and 20 avo notes in 1942. In 1944, it introduced a 500 pataca note. After 1952, coins replaced denominations below 10 patacas. The bank discontinued the 25 pataca note in 1958.
Previous note designs included the coat of arms of Portugal; the current issue BNU's corporate logo has replaced the Coat of Arms.
The current issue of BNU banknotes is:
| Banco Nacional Ultramarino 2005 Series Banknote |
| Value |
Dimensions |
Color |
Obverse |
Reverse |
Printed Date |
| MOP$10 |
138 × 69 mm |
Yellow/Purple |
Statue of Deusa A-Má of Macau |
BNU building |
August 8, 2005 |
| MOP$20 |
143 × 71.5 mm |
Violet |
Macau International Airport |
August 8, 2005 |
| MOP$100 |
153 × 76.5 mm |
Blue |
Largo do Senado |
August 8, 2005 |
| MOP$500 |
158 × 79 mm |
Green |
Macau Tower |
August 8, 2005 |
| MOP$1000 |
163 × 81.5 mm |
Orange |
Macau Cultural Centre |
August 8, 2005 |
The 2005 series of BNU was printed by Hong Kong Note Printing Limited - Hong Kong.
References
External links