The Bank of Mozambique (Portuguese: Banco de Moçambique) is the central bank of Mozambique. The bank does not function as a commercial bank, and has the responsibility of governing the monetary policies of the country. The president of the Republic appoints the governor. The bank is situated in the capital, Maputo, and has two branches, one in Beira and one in Nampula. The Bank of Mozambique is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
History
Most of Mozambique was a Portuguese overseas territory for several centuries. After independence in 1975, the newly created Government of Mozambique took over, without compensation, the Mozambican operations of Banco Nacional Ultramarino, a Portuguese colonial bank that had been acting as the bank of issue for the colony. This became the nucleus of Bank of Mozambique.
In 1977 the government also nationalized almost all banks in the country, including the Casa Bancária de Moçambique, and the Mozambican operations of Banco de Crédito, Comercial e Industrial and Banco Comercial de Angola, and merged them into Bank of Mozambique. At the same time it closed the operations of Banco de Fomento Nacional and Banco Pinto e Sotto Mayor. (The government permitted Banco Standard Totta de Moçambique to remain private.) It also created the Banco Popular de Desenvolvirmento by merging Crédito de Moçambique and Montepio de Moçambique.
In 1992, the Bank of Mozambique established a branch in Beira. A branch in Nampula followed in 1996.
In 1995, the government spun off the commercial banking operations of Bank of Mozambique into a newly created institution, the Banco Comercial de Moçambique (BCM). The government privatized BCM in 1997, and it merged with Banco Internacional de Moçambique (Millennium bim) in 2001.
Introduction
The Bank of Mozambique (Portuguese name: Banco de Moçambique) is the central bank of Mozambique. It does not provide consumer services to general public as a commercial bank. The main responsibility of the bank is governing the monetary policy of the nation and ensuring a safe and stable financial system within Mozambique The Bank of Mozambique (BOM) has the sole issuing powers of currency notes and coins (BOM). The bank is responsible for the supervision of all 22 commercial banks in the country by exercising its power as the central bank of the country. Amid growing inflation and economic liberalization BOM is facing new challenges. Mozambique’s privatisation has been one of the largest in Africa.
International Monetary Fund have praised recent changes made by the bank regarding its monetary policy framework as commendable measures to bring the financial stability.
The headquarters is located in the capital, Maputo and two more branches are placed in Beira and Nampula.[7] In 2018 the headquarters was shifted to a newly constructed building with 2 basements and 30 floors high and with a total building area of 25 900 m2.
Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony located in Southeast Africa which had gained independence in 1975. It has a population of 30 million and covers a land area of 800, 000 km2. It is regarded as one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world.