Bank of San Fernando

The Bank of San Fernando (Spanish: Banco de San Fernando or Banco Español de San Fernando) was a financial institution created in Spain in 1829[1][2] at the initiative of Finance Minister Luis López Ballesteros, replacing the old Bank of San Carlos.[2][3] It assumed the debt of the Bank of San Carlos[3] and increased its capital by replacing an uncollectable 77.4 million peseta government debt with 10 million in cash,[2] with the intention of establishing Spain's first public bank, with the capacity to issue Spanish currency,[3] although two thirds of its ownership was private.^[citation needed]

Among its other activities, it became a de facto financial instrument to salvage the liquidity of Spanish finances,[2] especially during the First Carlist War during the reign of Isabella II.^[citation needed] It was merged in 1849 with the Bank of Isabella II (founded 1844), retaining the name Bank of San Fernando until 1856, when it became the Bank of Spain.[3][4]

Notes

1. Real cédula de 9 Julio de 1829 para la erección en Madrid del banco de San Fernando. On Google Books.
2. Gabriel Tortella, "Spanish Banking History, 1782 to the Present" 865:874 in Manfred Pohl, Sabine Freitag, European Association for Banking History, Handbook on the history of European banks, Elgar Original Reference Series, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1-85278-919-0. p. 865–866. Available on Google Books.
3. Brief History Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Banco de España. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
4. History of a Central Bank Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Banco de España, p. 6 (p. 8 of PDF). Retrieved 2010-03-03.