- published: 25 Feb 2016
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The Central Bank of Venezuela (Spanish: Banco Central de Venezuela, BCV) is the central bank of Venezuela. It maintains a fixed exchange rate for the Venezuelan bolívar. Nelson Merentes is the President of the Central Bank of Venezuela. Merentes is a representative of Venezuela for the International Monetary Fund.
The currency exchange system in Venezuela is known as the "Ancillary Foreign Currency Administration System" or Sicad.
The Central Bank is able to issue bonds through the "SITME" market. In 2012, it was reported that $44 million worth of bonds were purchased through SITME in a single day for Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
Coordinates: 10°30′36″N 66°54′55″W / 10.5100°N 66.9152°W / 10.5100; -66.9152
Coordinates: 8°N 66°W / 8°N 66°W / 8; -66
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAYL-ə; Spanish: [beneˈswela]), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population around 33,221,865. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity (currently ranks 7th in the world's list of nations with the most number of species), with habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rain-forest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a state's currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base in the state, and usually also prints the national currency, which usually serves as the state's legal tender.
The primary function of a central bank is to control the nation's money supply (monetary policy), through active duties such as managing interest rates, setting the reserve requirement, and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of bank insolvency or financial crisis. Central banks usually also have supervisory powers, intended to prevent bank runs and to reduce the risk that commercial banks and other financial institutions engage in reckless or fraudulent behavior. Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists.