The Kemmerer Commision^*

In March of 1923, President Pedro Nel Ospina commissioned a group of experts, headed by Prof. Edwin Walter Kemmerer, which later became known as the Kemmerer Commission. The first act of this commission was to study our economic reality via contact and discussion with business associations, agricultural societies and regional officials.

Subsequently, without transplanting the reigning standards and norms from other economies nor pursuing total innovation, the Commission continued on to organize the useful parts of the laws passed the previous year as a basis for the elaboration of the by-laws for the entity that was about to be born.

Creation of the Banco de la República  

The Banco de la República was constituted as the Central bank of Colombia on the 25th of July, 1923 by virtue of Law 25. It was organized as an anonymous society with a starting capital of 10 million pesos, 50% of which came from the Government and the remainder contributed by foreign and national commercial banks as well as some private individuals. This entity was entrusted exclusively with the charges of issuing Colombian legal tender, administrating the country´s international reserves, acting as banker to the Government and serving as lender of last resort. The Board of Directors of the Bank, composed of 10 members consisting of representatives both of the private and public sectors, was entrusted by said Law with the exercise of regulatory and monetary controls under strict adherence to parameters of financial orthodoxy. The Board was also entrusted with the tasks of fixing the discount rate and intervening to control interest rates.

The Banco de la República plays a fundamental part in the economic and institutional organization of the country. With the passage of time, this institution has undergone important changes, which have sought to tailor it to an economy in a permanent process of growth and development.

REFERENCES

The Bank
| Introduction | History, Mission and Functions |
| Organizational Diagram | Financial Statements |
| Notes and Coins | Fellowships |
| Foundations | General Information |