The National Bank of Angola (Portuguese: Banco Nacional de Angola) is the central bank of Angola. It is state-owned and the Government of Angola is the sole shareholder. The bank is based in Luanda and traces its ancestry back to 1865.
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In 1864 the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) was established in Lisbon, Portugal, as a bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories. The next year it opened branches in several places, including Portuguese Angola, which at the time was a colonial possession of Portugal. When the Portuguese established a separate bank for Angola, the Bank of Angola (Portuguese: Banco de Angola), in 1926, BNU transferred its branch in Stanleyville to this bank, which in 1934, transferred the branch to Boma, before closing it in 1947.[1]
When Angola gained its independence in 1975, the government nationalized the banking sector. Banco de Angola became Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA); Banco Comercial de Angola became Banco Popular de Angola, and is now Banco de Poupança e Crédito. The BNA continued to function as a central bank, bank of issue and commercial bank. The government also designated it as the only legal holder of foreign currency and delegated to it responsibility for all foreign transactions.
On April 20, 1991, a new law restricted BNA's role to that of a central bank, including being solely responsible for monetary policy and acting as issuing bank, banker of the Government and reserve bank. Beginning in 1999, the Central Bank began implementing reforms to meet international standards.
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