The Bank of Spain (Spanish: Banco de España) is Spain’s central bank and the Spanish member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for Spain from 1874 to 1998, issuing the Spanish peseta. Since 2014, it has also been Spain’s national competent authority within European Banking Supervision. It was originally established by Charles III in Madrid in 1782, as the Banco Nacional de San Carlos, and took its current name in 1856. Its activity is regulated by the Bank of Spain Autonomy Act. The bank doesn’t translate its name to English but uses its Spanish name in all English communications.
The Bank of Spain holds 9.1 million troy ounces of gold (around 283 tons) (2019), which are stored in its own vaults and in various institutions in London and New York. According to IMF data, Spain ranks 20th among the 40 largest gold reserves in the world (as of July 2015).
In January 2021, the snowstorm “Filomena” caused the clock at the Bank of Spain to freeze for the first time in 130 years. This occurred at 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, January 9th.