Banque Centrale du Congo
| Headquarters | Kinshasa , Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| founding | 1964 |
| country | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| currency | |
| ISO 4217 | CDF |
| Currency reserves | US $ 3.857 billion (August 2019) |
| Website | |
| List of central banks | |
The Banque Centrale du Congo is the central bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The bank's head office is located on Colonel Tshatshi Boulevard in the La Gombe neighborhood of Kinshasa . The bank has a network of regional branches in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa . There are branches in Lubumbashi , Goma , Kamina , Kasumbalesa , Kikwit , Tshikapa , Ilebo and Matadi . In cities where the central bank is not present, a commercial bank can act as its representative. The Trust Merchant Bank is taking on this role in some cities.
history
From 1886 to 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Free State of the Congo as his private domain. On July 27, 1887, he issued a royal decree that introduced the franc as a means of payment for the Free State of Congo and Rwanda-Urundi . In 1890, Rwanda-Urundi was placed under the influence of the German Empire in Africa by the treaty between the German Empire and the United Kingdom over the colonies and Heligoland . As a result, the German-East African rupee became the official currency in Rwanda-Urundi, although the franc was still in circulation there. In 1908 Belgium took direct responsibility for the Congo and took it over from Leopold. As a result, the Belgian Congo became a member of the Latin Coin Union .
In 1909, several Belgian banks jointly founded the Banque du Congo Belge (Dutch: Bank van Belgisch Congo). This freed the bank to act as an intermediary in the Congo for all of the major Belgian banks and not as a subsidiary or subsidiary of any one of them. However, the dominant bank was Société Générale de Belgique , which eventually became the majority owner of the bank. In 1911, the colonial government gave the bank a 25-year monopoly on the right to issue banknotes for the colony and appointed it the colonial government's fiscal representative. The bank issued its first banknotes in 1912.
After Germany's defeat in World War I , Belgium took over the League of Nations mandate over Rwanda-Urundi. Belgium then included the area in the Congo Franc Zone.
With the agreement of October 10, 1927, the issue of banknotes was taken up again and the bank's monopoly was extended to July 1, 1952. During the Second World War, Belgium was occupied by the Germans. The Bank of England then took a temporary stake in the affairs of the Congo and the Congo Franc was listed in London . On July 1, 1952, the day after the bank's monopoly ended, the newly founded Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi took over responsibility for issuing banknotes.
From 1960 to 1964, the Banque d'Emission du Rwanda et du Burundi served as the central bank for the affiliated areas for about four years. In 1961 Rwanda became an independent republic, the following year Burundi became independent as a monarchy. In 1964, each state established its own central bank, the Royal Bank of Burundi and the Banque Nationale du Rwanda . In 1966 Burundi became a republic and the central bank changed its name to Banque de la République du Burundi. The Banque Centrale du Congo-Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi was dissolved after the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. The Banque Nationale du Congo was founded in 1964 in its place as the new central bank of the Congo.
When the Congo changed its name to Zaire in 1971 , the Banque Nationale du Congo became the Banque Nationale du Zaire. When the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997, the bank adopted its current name.
Individual evidence
- ^ Congo Foreign Exchange Reserves . tradingeconomics.com Accessed November 24, 2019 (English)
- ^ Banque du Congo Belge, 1909-1959 . Editions L. Cuypers, Bruxelles 1959 ( gov.au [accessed December 19, 2019]).