Headquarters | Gaborone, Botswana |
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Established | 1 July 1975 |
Ownership | Government of Botswana 100%[1] |
Governor | Cornelius Karlens Dekop |
Central bank of | Botswana |
Currency | Botswana pula BWP (ISO 4217) |
Reserves | 7 390 million USD[1] |
Bank rate | 3.75% |
Website | bankofbotswana.bw |
The Bank of Botswana (BoB; Tswana: Polokelo ya Madi ya Botswana) is the central bank of Botswana.
When Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966, the country was part of the Rand Monetary Area (RMA).[2] In 1974 Botswana withdrew from the RMA, and the Bank of Botswana and Financial Institution Acts established the legal framework for a central bank in Botswana to be established in July 1975, with Christopher H. L. Hermans as the first Governor.[2] The pula was launched as a national currency in 1976, and in 1977 the Bank of Botswana became the government banker.[3]
The Bank manages Botswana's sovereign wealth fund, the Pula Fund.