Private company

State Bank of Chile

Logo: Trabajo Derivado: Andrés Navarro Original: Banco Estado, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons³

Chilean public bank

Banco del Estado de Chile (In English: Bank of the State of Chile), commercially operating under the brand BancoEstado, is the only Public Bank in Chile and was created by government decree in 1953. It provides financial services to consumers and companies, with a focus on national coverage in terms of geography and social sectors and a particular emphasis on the unbanked and small and medium enterprises, although it serves all types of businesses. It is the country's largest mortgage lender and largest issuer of debit cards.² It is part of Ministry of Finance.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Aug 1, 1953Founded¹

Industryeconomics of banking, financial sector, financial services¹
HeadquartersSantiago¹
Websitewww.bancoestado.cl

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Banco del Estado de Chile (In English: Bank of the State of Chile), commercially operating under the brand BancoEstado, is the only Public Bank in Chile and was created by government decree in 1953. It provides financial services to consumers and companies, with a focus on national coverage in terms of geography and social sectors and a particular emphasis on the unbanked and small and medium enterprises, although it serves all types of businesses. It is the country's largest mortgage lender and largest issuer of debit cards. In addition, BancoEstado performs part of the Chilean government's financial activities through the accounts managed by the General Treasury of the Republic of Chile.²

Products and brands

financial services

Listed on Wikidata.¹

The bank has several subsidiaries that complement its activities. Among these are the following:

Stock and securities trading: BancoEstado Corredores de Bolsa S.A. (1989)

Insurance: BancoEstado Corredores de Seguros S.A. (1999)

Mutual funds: BancoEstado Administradora General de Fondos S.A.

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Financial consulting: BancoEstado Microempresas S.A., Asesorías Financieras. (1995)

BancoEstado Contacto 24 Horas S.A. (2001)

Collections: BancoEstado Cobranzas (2000)

The bank also has a program known as "BancoEstado Cine" which since 2004 has supported Chilean film production.

From Wikipedia’s article on Banco del Estado de Chile, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁴

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Ministry of Finance

From Wikidata.¹

Acquisitions

Succeeded Caja de Crédito Hipotecario¹

Controversies and legal

Legal framework

BancoEstado is regulated mainly by the provisions of the Organic Law of the Bank of the State of Chile (Ley Orgánica del Banco del Estado de Chile), which defines the bank as an autonomous state-owned company with separate legal personality and its own assets, supervised exclusively by the Bank and Financial Institution Board (Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras). The bank deals with the Government through the Ministry of Finance.

As a banking institution, BancoEstado is subject to the laws applicable to banks generally as well as those regulating the private sector as a whole, and thus is not governed by general laws and regulations aimed at the public sector.

In 2005, BancoEstado was the first Chilean bank to open a branch in New York. This branch operates under the U.S. banking law.