Banco de la República

There are at least three predecessors to the current bank. The first one was created in 1880, named the Banco Nacional, and its functions included handling the state funds, issuing currency and making loans to the state. In 1894 the Congress closed the bank due to registered excesses in the issuance of currency and bonds. In 1905 the president Rafael Reyes created the Banco Central de Colombia but it was closed in 1910 by Reyes opponents.

In 1923, after several years of financial crisis, President Pedro Nel Ospina requested an expert committee to study Colombian economic conditions. This committee, led by American economist Edwin Walter Kemmerer (referred to in an expression of the time as a money doctor) was called the Mission Kemmerer. Kemmerer had already worked with Latin American governments: that of Mexico in 1917 and of Guatemala in 1919. He helped the Colombian government create the Banco de la República and the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, and to structure the laws for this function using those already existing. After his work in Colombia, Kemmerer did the same for other Latin American governments, like Chile in 1925, Ecuador in 1926 and Peru in 1931.

The bank was officially chartered by the Law 25 of July 25, 1923, 5 days after the 113 anniversary of the Independence of Colombia. With an initial capital of 10 million dollars in gold, half provided by the government and the rest by foreign and national commercial banks. Its role as a banker for banks includes:

Acting as a State Bank

Controlling the issue of the currency, the Colombian peso

Receiving foreign credits and make loans to the Government and private banks

Managing the financial policy of the country

Regulating the exchange rate between the peso and other currencies