Wholly owned subsidiary | |
Industry | Banking |
Founded | 1864 in Lisbon, Portugal |
Headquarters | Macau |
Products | Financial services |
Number of employees
|
400 (2013) |
Parent | Caixa Geral de Depósitos (2001) |
Website | www.bnu.com.mo |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɐ̃ku nɐsiuˈnaɫ uɫtɾɐmɐˈɾinu]; Chinese: 大西洋銀行; English: National Overseas Bank) was a Portuguese bank with operations throughout the world, especially in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased existence as an independent legal entity in Portugal following its merger with Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the government-owned savings bank, in 2001. The Chinese name's meaning is literally Great West Ocean Bank or Atlantic Bank.
The Bank continues operations today under the Banco Nacional Ultramarino brand in Macau, a Chinese Special Administrative Region and former Portuguese colony, where it is also licensed to issue Macanese pataca banknotes.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) was established in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1864 as a bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories. the next year it opened branches in Luanda, Angola and Praia, Cabo Verde. Three years after that, in 1868, BNU opened branches in São Tomé and Príncipe, Goa, and Mozambique.
In 1901 BNU lost its banking monopoly, but retained its note-issuing monopoly in the countries in which BNU operated. The next year, BNU opened branches in Macau and in Bolama, Portuguese Guinea (present-day Guinea-Bissau).