Bolivia - Banking and securities



The Central Bank of Bolivia, established in 1928 and reorganized in 1945, is the sole bank of issue. The 1995 Central Bank Law refined the CBB's controls on the banking sector. The Superintendent of Banks regulates the operations of banks, and the Prudential Norms Financial Committee (CONFIP) regulates finance companies. The Bolivian Development Corp. channels credits from the Inter-American Development Bank into industrial expansion projects.

There are 13 private banks, accounting for over 85% of the deposits and loans of the financial system. Private banks, which had been under strict control since 1953, were largely deregulated in mid-1985. Commercial banks include: Banco Boliviano Americano (BBA), Banco de Credito de Bolivia, Banco de la Nacion Argentina, Banco de La Paz, Banco de la Union, Banco Economico, Banco Industrial SA (BISA), Banco Mercantil, Banco Nacional de Bolivia, Banco Real, Banco Santa Cruz, and Citibank. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $717.9 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $3.7 billion. The money market rate, or the rate at which financial institutions lend to one another in the short term, was 6.99%. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 8.5%.

The Bolivian Stock Exchange is the main stock exchange, with seven listed companies trading in 1995. There is also the Santa Cruz Stock Exchange.

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