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 The Board of Directors was created by the same law, with ten members from private and public sectors of the economy with the power to enforce regulatory and monetary controls. The Board was also given the responsibility of establishing the
discount rate and intervening to control
interest rates. ==Buildings==