In 1864, the
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) was established in
Lisbon, Portugal, as a bank of issue for all Portuguese overseas territories. The next year, it opened branches in several places, including
Angola, which at the time was an
overseas province of Portugal. In 1926, the Portuguese established a separate issue bank for Angola, creating the Bank of Angola (). BNU transferred its branch in
Stanleyville to this bank, which in 1934, transferred the branch to
Boma, before closing it in 1947. When Angola gained its independence in 1975, the government nationalized the banking sector.
Banco de Angola became
Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA);
Banco Comercial de Angola became
Banco Popular de Angola, and is now
Banco de Poupança e Crédito. The BNA continued to function as a central bank, bank of issue and commercial bank. The government also designated it as the only legal holder of foreign currency and delegated to it responsibility for all foreign transactions. On April 20, 1991, a new law restricted BNA's role to that of a
central bank, including being solely responsible for monetary policy and acting as issuing bank, banker of the Government and reserve bank. Beginning in 1999, the Central Bank began implementing reforms to meet international standards. Bank of Angola is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion and active in the
financial inclusion arena. == Financial fraud at BNA ==