The Bank Of Portugal Is A Portuguese Member Of The Eurosystem And Served As The Monetary Authority Of Portugal From 1846 To 1998, Issuing The Portuguese Escudo. Since 2014, It Has Been Portugal's National Authority For Banking Supervision In Europe. The Bank Was Established Under Royal Charter In 1846 During The Reign Of Queen Maria II Of Portugal, Resulting From The Merger Of Banco Lisbon [pt], The First Portuguese Bank To Be Established, And Companhia Confiança Nacional, An Insurance Company.
History
The Bank Of Portugal Is The Successor To Banco Lisbon, The First Portuguese Bank To Be Established In Portugal.
Foundations
The Bank Was Established By Queen Maria II Of Portugal Under A Royal Charter On 19, 1846, As A Commercial Bank And Issuing Bank. It Is The Result Of The Merger Of Banco De Lisbon, The First Bank Established In Portugal, And Companhia De Confiança Nacional, An Investment Company Specializing In The Financing Of Public Debt.
The Bank Was Designated By The Portuguese Crown As The Issuing Country Of Legal Tender, Which At That Time Was The Portuguese Real, And Remained In Production Until 1911.
Republic
The Bank Of Portugal (Banco De Portugal) Is Located In Avenida Dos Aliados, Porto.
After The Establishment Of The Republic In 1910, The Bank Of Portugal Began To Issue The Portuguese Escudo.
In 1932, The Bank Established The Library Of The Bank Of Portugal, One Of The Most Important Private Libraries In Portugal.
In 1946, The Institution Was Awarded The Grand Cross Of The Order Of Christ By The President Of Portugal.
During Estado Novo, The Bank Pursued An Active Policy Of Gold Acquisitions From 1957, Which Contributed To Portugal Becoming The 14th Largest Gold Reserve Country In The World Today.
Nationalization
Branch Of The Bank Of Portugal In Braga.
The Museu Do Dinheiro (Museum Of Money) Is Located At The Headquarters Of The Bank Of Portugal, In Baixa, Lisbon.
After The Nationalization In 1975 And The New Organic Law, In 1974, The Bank Of Portugal Was Responsible For Supervising The Banking System For The First Time.
It Is An Integral Part Of The European System Of Central Banks, Established In 1998.
The Bank Of Portugal Stopped Issuing Portuguese Escudos In 1999, And The Country Adopted The Euro.
Contemporary
In 2013, The Bank Announced That It Would Pay Dividends Of 35.92012 Billion Euros, Referring To 4 Years.
In 2014, The Bank Announced That It Would Pay A Dividend Of 20.22013 Billion Euros, Referring To 2012, A Sharp Decrease Compared To 5 Years.
In June 2014, The Bank Of Portugal Announced That It Would Split Banco Espirito Santo, Portugal's Second Largest Bank, In Two. During The Bank's Restructuring, The Loan Liabilities Of One Of The Lenders, Oak Finance, Remained With Banco Espirito Santo. This Triggered Lawsuits From A Group Of Investors, Including: Hedge Funds And New Zealand Pension Funds.
