Bank of Spain
The Bank of Spain Building in Madrid, hosting the Banco de España since 1891. | |
| Headquarters | Bank of Spain Building, Calle de Alcalá, Madrid |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°25′06″N 3°41′41″W / 40.41833°N 3.69472°W |
| Established | 2 June 1782 |
| Ownership | 100% state ownership |
| Governor | José Luis Escrivá |
| Central bank of | Government of Spain |
| Reserves | €104.9 billion 9,1 million troy ounces (February 2025) |
| Preceded by | Bank of San Fernando |
| Succeeded by | European Central Bank (1999)1 |
| Website | www |
| The Bank of Spain still exists but many functions have been taken over by the ECB. | |
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The Bank of Spain (Spanish: Banco de España, pronounced [ˈbaŋko ðe esˈpaɲa]) is the national central bank for Spain within the Eurosystem. It was the Spanish central bank from 1874 to 1998, issuing the peseta. Since 2014, it has also been Spain's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision. It was originally established by Charles III in Madrid in 1782, as the Banco Nacional de San Carlos, and took its current name in 1856. Its activity is regulated by the Bank of Spain Autonomy Act. The bank doesn't translate its name to English but uses its Spanish name in all English communications.
The Bank of Spain holds 9.1 million troy ounces of gold (around 283 tons) (2019), which are stored in its own vaults and in various institutions in London and New York. According to IMF data, Spain ranks 20th among the 40 largest gold reserves in the world (as of July 2015).
In January 2021, the snowstorm "Filomena" caused the clock at the Bank of Spain to freeze for the first time in 130 years. This occurred at 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, 9 January.