Banco Nacional Ultramarino - Timeline

Timeline

• 1864 - Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) was established in Lisbon, Portugal, as a bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories
• 1865 - BNU opened branches in Luanda, Angola and Praia, Cabo Verde.
• 1868 - The bank opened branches in São Tomé and Príncipe, Goa, and Mozambique.
• 1901 - BNU lost its banking monopoly, but retained its monopoly note-issuing monopoly in the countries in which BNU operated.
• 1902 - BNU opened branches in Macau and in Bolama, Portuguese Guinea (present-day Guinea-Bissau).
• 1912 - BNU opened branches opened in Dili, East Timor (present-day Timor Leste, and in Brazil.
• 1919 - BNU established a representative office in Stanleyville and a branch in Paris.
• 1920 - BNU established a representative office in Bombay.
• 1926 - BNU lost its note-issuing monopoly in Angola with creation of Banco de Angola. BNU transferred its branch in Stanleyville to Banco de Angola.
• 1929 - BNU established Anglo-Portuguese Colonial and Overseas Bank, its subsidiary in London, and converted its branch in Paris to a subsidiary, Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer.
• 1952 - BNU closed its branches in India.
• 1965 - BNU, Banco Português do Atlântico, Banco de Angola, and the South African company, General Mining and Finance, founded Bank of Lisbon and South Africa. This was later renamed Mercantile Lisbon Bank.
• 1970s - BNU bought a stake in Banque Interatlantique in Luxembourg.
• 1970s - BNU established a representative office in London.
• 1974 - The Portuguese government nationalized BNU, following the Carnation Revolution.
• 1975 BNU's interests in Mozambique were nationalized and renamed Banco de Moçambique.

BNU's interests in São Tomé and Príncipe were nationalized and renamed National Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe. In 1993, the government split National Bank into a central bank, Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, and a commercial bank, Banco Internacional de Sao Tome e Principe.

BNU's interests in Cape Verde were nationalized and renamed Bank of Cape Verde. In 1993, the government spun off the commercial banking operations into a new bank, Banco Comercial do Atlantico.

• 1988 - Portuguese Government-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos became the majority shareholder of BNU, with the Republic of Portugal the sole other shareholder.
• 1991 - BNU opened a branch in London.
• 1993 - BNU opened a branch in Zhuhai, a Special Economic Zone of China.
• 1993 - Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) became the majority shareholder in Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer. In 2002, CGD closed the bank by merging its operations into CGD's branch in Paris.
• 1995 - The Chinese government confirmed that BNU would remain a note issuer in Macao until at least 2010.
• 1999 - BNU opened representative offices in Mumbai and Panjim (Goa), and a branch in Dili, Timor Leste.
• 2000 - BNU reached an agreement with the Administration of Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, under which BNU remains an Agent of the Treasury.
• 2001 - BNU and Caixa Geral de Depósitos merged through incorporation of BNU into Caixa Geral de Depósitos; Banque Franco-Portugaise d’Outre-Mer became a branch of Caixa Geral; on July 1, 2000, the Macau branch of Banco Nacional Ultramarino became a bank incorporated in Macau SAR under the name Banco Nacional Ultramarino S.A., but remained wholly owned subsidiary of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, retaining until 2010 its functions as a note issuer and Agent of the Treasury.
• 2002 - Caixa Geral acquired majority ownership (64.8%) of the South African focused bank holding company - Mercantile Lisbon Bank Holdings Limited (MLBH), now known as Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited, which operates the Mercantile Bank.