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History of the company/bank and archive description for Banco de España

Its creation was closely linked to the growth in the public debt, a connection that was maintained throughout its long life and through successive changes. Its first manager and main driving force was Francisco Cabarrus, a French banker who settled in Madrid. Two years earlier, in 1780, Cabarrus had negotiated with the Royal Treasury the issue and place- ment of a new form of public debt, known as vales reales (royal promissory notes). Indeed, one of the main missions assigned to the new bank was to deal with the depreciation of these vales reales, which it was authorised to purchase, paying in gold or in its own banknotes. Initially operations went well, but the later involvement of the Spanish crown in a constant succession of wars created serious difficulties for the bank, and it was finally liquidated in 1829.

That same year a new official bank, called Banco Espanol de San Fernando, was created from what remained of the Banco de San Carlos, namely the 40 million reales - 10 million pesetas - that the government had used to cancel its debt with the previous bank. Under its charter, the new bank was granted the monopoly for the issue of banknotes in Madrid.

In 1844 another bank, Banco de Isabel II, was founded in Madrid, emerging as the major competitor of the San Fernando bank. It was a private bank created by a new generation of Spanish bankers and merchants whose main object was to finance industry and trade, and railway companies in particular. The bank was authorised to engage in all ordinary banking activities, including the issue of banknotes, and this became one of the focal points of its rivalry with the Banco de San Fernando. After nearly four years of confrontation, the two banks merged in 1847 under the name Nuevo Banco Espanol de San Fernando. Several years later, in 1856, with the enactment of two laws on banks of issue and credit institutions, the bank received the name by which it is known today, Banco de Espana or Bank of Spain.

These two laws paved the way for the emergence of new banks throughout Spain, especially in the major cities - Banco de Barcelona in Barcelona, Banco de Bilbao in Bilbao, Banco de Cadiz in Cadiz and so forth until, ultimately, 20 cities had their own banks of issue. Eventually, in 1874, the Finance Ministry granted the Banco de Espana the right to act as the monopoly issuer of bank notes for the entire country. Local banks of issue were offered the opportunity of merging with the Banco de Espana or preserving their status as credit institutions. Most of the banks chose to merge, becoming branches of the main institution. This was the origin of the Bank of Spain´s nationwide network of branches, which numbered 55 in 1887 and later increased to 70.

The Spanish Banking Act of 1921 regulated for the first time the relationship between the Bank of Spain and the private banks, seeking at the same time to transform the issuing bank into a true central bank. Its capital was increased, it was entrusted with the inspection of private banks, a prime rate was set for discount transactions with private banks, and exchange rate policy was regulated through the bank. And, in fact, in the early 1920s the Bank of Spain took its initial steps towards becoming a modern central bank. This transformation was achieved through a series of regulations, including most notably the Decree Law on the Nationalisation and Reorganization of the Bank of Spain of 1962, under which the bank shed its private bank structure and its shareholders. This marked a further effort to assign to the bank the functions of a true central bank, i.e. the full supervision of private banks and the control of monetary policy, in addition to reporting to and advising the government on matters of currency and credit. It also provided for the restoration of the bank´s responsibilities for exchange rate policy and foreign payments that it had lost following the 1936 - 1939 civil war.

Lastly, after democracy was restored in Spain, the Law on the Governing Bodies of the Bank of Spain of June 1980 and the more recent Law of Autonomy of June 1994 gave the bank great independence in implementing its policies, and monetary policy in particular.

The Bank of Spain´s Archive stores a vast collection of records covering its activities, dating from the foundation of the Banco Nacional de San Carlos to the present. This collection occupies roughly 35 kilometres of shelves. The docu- ments - a fourth considered of historical interest and the rest related to the Bank´s general management - are kept at the Bank of Spain´s headquarters in the centre of Madrid. The Archive was officially opened to researchers in 1982, and it has a reading room for 12 - 14 persons.

The collection is formed by historical archives, general archives (management records) and a coin and banknotes collection. The documents are classified in sixteen sections or collections, reflecting the main departments and divisions of the Bank. They contain a multitude of documents covering every aspect of the Bank´s history and activities : a full collection of the minutes of the Board of Directors´ meetings ; a large collection of accounting books ; the charters and regulations of the Bank of Spain ; records of shareholders and ownership documents ; relations with the government and other public and private institutions ; documents on monetary policy ; records on issues of banknotes and public debt ; accounts of private customers ; records on branches and personnel ; maps and drawings of the Bank´s buildings in Madrid and its branches in other cities ; documents on the inspection of private banks, and records on the financing of public works such as canals, ports, roads, railways and monumentums.

CATALOGUES:

The Archive has an inventory for each of its sections and collections, and, though not in the form of a publication, these inventories are available for consultation. A programme to computerise the Archive´s contents is under way, and a guide to the entire Archive is now being prepared.

• Felipe Ruiz Martin et alii (1970), El banco de Espana. Una historica económica, Madrid, Banco de Espana.
• Congreso sobre Archivos Económicos de Entidades Privadas, I Junio 1982. (1983), Madrid, Archivo del Banco de Espana.
• Congreso sobre Archivos Económicos de Entidades Privadas, II. Fuentes para la historia de la banca y el comercio en Espana. Junio 1986 (1988), Madrid, Archivo del Banco de Espana.
• Teresa Tortella (1986), Indice de los primitivos accionistas del Banco de San Carlos, Madrid, Archivo del Banco de Espana.
• M. Teresa Olaz (1989), Inventario de los fondos del Banco de San Carlos en Archivos del Estado, Madrid, Archivo del Banco de Espana.
• Banco de Espana (1987), Monedas hispánicas, 1475 - 1598, Madrid.
• Pedro Tedde (1988), El Banco de San Carlos (1782 - 1829), Madrid, Banco de Espana.
• Banco de Espana (1991), Monedas de oro de la colección del Banco de Espana, Madrid.
• Teresa Tortella (1997), Los primeros billetes espanoles: las "Cédulas" del Banco de San Carlos, Madrid, Archivo del Banco de Espana.

Research card (valid for two years)

• University degree
• Presentation by two figures of the academic world linked to a university

• University student in senior courses
• Presentation by two figures of the academic world linked to a university

• Extended for reasons of pressing need or brief consultation

The Archive is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 17:30, except in San Isidro Week and the month of August, when it is open from 9:00 to 14:30.

Inquiries:

Banco de Espana
Archive Section
Historical Archive
Alcalá 50
E - 28 014 Madrid
Spain

Telephone:

+34 / 91 / 338 55 79
+34 / 91 / 338 52 26
+34 / 91 / 338 53 62

Fax:

+34 / 91 / 531 00 59