Banco Nacional Ultramarino (literally Translated As "National Overseas Bank") Is A Bank Established By Portugal In Its Former Colony. It Was Established In Lisbon In 1864 And Was Responsible For Promoting The Economic Development Of The Portuguese Overseas Territories. Later, It Was Also Responsible For Issuing Banknotes Of The Portuguese Colonies.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino Has Operated All Over The World, Especially In The Former Overseas Provinces Of Portugal. After Merging With The Government-owned Caixa Geral De Depósitos In 2001, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Ceased To Be A Separate Legal Entity In Portugal. The Current Banco Nacional Ultramarino, As The Branch Of Caixa Geral De Depósitos In Macau, Maintains The Original Portuguese And Chinese Names.
The Macau Branch Of Banco Nacional Ultramarino Is Headquartered In Lisbon (New Road), Armenia. Its Building Was Built In 1926, And The Outer Wall Of The Original Building Was Retained When It Was Expanded In 1997. The Bank Has A Total Of 20 Branches, Of Which 14 Are Located In Macau Peninsula, 4 In Taipa, 1 In Coloane, 1 In Zhuhai Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, And Has A Representative Office In Shanghai.
National Overseas Bank, Translated Into Chinese As Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Was Established In Lisbon, The Capital Of Portugal, In 1864. Branches Were Opened In Angola And Cape Verde In 1865, And In Sao Tome And Principe And Mozambique In 1868. The Macau Branch Was Established In 1902, The Same Year As Guinea-Bissau. The East Timor Branch Was Established In 1912. After Opening Branches In The Colonies Of Africa And The East, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Began Its Second Phase Of Expansion In 1917, Establishing A Network Of Branches In Mainland Europe, Madeira And The Azores, Forming The Largest Portuguese Banking Network.
The Banknotes Issued By Banco Nacional Ultramarino Were A Milestone In The History Of Currency Circulation In The Former Colonies, As They Were Able To Gradually Regulate Currency Circulation, End The Wide Variety Of Currencies In Circulation And Become The Only Legal Tender. Banco Nacional Ultramarino Banknotes Are Issued In Different Monetary Units, Including The Escudos In Angola, Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome And Principe, East Timor, The Pataca In Macau, The Escudos And Rupees In Goa, India, Etc., Depending On The Time And Space Of Their Circulation. In The Former Colonies Of The East - India, Macau And Timor - The Issuance Of Banco Nacional Ultramarino Follows The Sovereignty Of Portugal Over Them: In India Until 1961, And In Timor Until 1975.
Until The 1960s, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Was The Bank With The Largest Branch Network In Portugal. After The April 25 Revolution In 1974, The New Government Pursued A Policy Of Nationalization, And Banco Nacional Ultramarino Was Nationalized In The Same Year. Under The Terms Of The Agreement Concluded Between The Portuguese Government And The Governments Of The Then Independent New Portuguese-speaking Countries, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Transferred The Assets And Liabilities Of All Its Affiliates To The Newly Established Bank Of The Former Colonial States. In 1988, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Was Partially Privatized, With Caixa Geral De Depósitos Holding 99% Of The Share Capital Of Banco Nacional Ultramarino As The Largest Shareholder Of The Bank, And The Remaining 1% Belongs To The Portuguese National Government. On March 28, 2001, Banco Nacional Ultramarino And Caixa Geral De Depósitos Announced Their Merger, And Banco Nacional Ultramarino Became A Wholly Owned Subsidiary Of Caixa Geral De Depósitos; While Banco Nacional Ultramarino Macau Branch Was Changed To A Local Bank Registered In Macau, And The Original Name Remained Unchanged.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino Established A Branch In Macau In 1902, Which Was The First Bank In Macau. In The Early Days Of Its Establishment, The Chinese Name Was "Atlantic Overseas Exchange Bank". For A Brief Period In The 1960s, The Chinese Name Was Changed To "Overseas Bank Of Portugal".
Banco Nacional Ultramarino Macau Branch Began To Be Responsible For The Issuance Of Patacas In 1905. Macau Did Not Have A Sound Financial Regulatory Framework During The Portuguese Rule; Until Banco Nacional Ultramarino Established A Branch In Macau In 1902, Becoming The First Bank In Macau, And Was Commissioned By The Government To Become The First Financial Institution Group To Issue Cash In Macau Three Years After Its Establishment (1905). Since Then, The Local Political And Economic Environment In Macau Has Undergone Profound Changes, And The Overall Situation Has Continued To Develop. At That Time, Banco Nacional Ultramarino, As The Only Bank With The Right To Issue Banknotes And Acting As The Cashier's Agent For The Public Treasury Of The Macao Government, Actually Played The Role Of A Quasi-central Bank. Until 1980, The Banknote-issuing Rights Of Banco Nacional Ultramarino Were Taken Back By The Government And Transferred To The Macau Issuing Institute (the Predecessor Of The Macau Monetary Authority). After That, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Continued To Issue Banknotes, But Only Acted As An Agent Of The Macau Issuing Institute By Signing An Agency Contract.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino Macau Branch Started To Be Responsible For The Banknote-issuing Of Patacas In 1905. It Was The Only Banknote-issuing Bank In Macau Until 1995. In Addition, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Macau Branch Was Also The Only Cashier's Agent Bank For The Macau Government's Public Treasury Until 2000. It Served As The Cashier's Agent Bank For The Macau Government's Public Treasury Jointly With Bank Of China Macau Branch.
On January 18, 2017, Banco Nacional Ultramarino Opened Hengqin Branch In Hengqin New Area, Zhuhai, China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Becoming The First Local Bank In Macau To Open A Branch In The Chinese Mainland.
