Central Bank of the Congo



The Central Bank of the Congo (Banque Centrale du Congo, Ndaku Monene ya Bokéngeli Mbongo ya Mboka Kongo) is the central bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bank's main offices are on Boulevard Colonel Tshatshi in La Gombe in Kinshasa.

The bank is engaged in developing policies to promote financial inclusion and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. On 5 May 2012 the Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced it would be making specific commitments to financial inclusion under the Maya Declaration.

History
On 1960/10/13, the newly established Democratic Republic of the Congo issued an executive order creating the Conseil monétaire de la République Démocratique du Congo, which took over the Congolese operations of the Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi (BCCBRU). The Conseil monétaire evolved in 1964 into the Banque Nationale du Congo, the country's new central bank. When the Congo changed its name to Zaire in 1971, the Banque Nationale du Congo became the Banque du Zaïre (Bank of Zaire). Then in 1997, when the country's name became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the bank took its current name.

Regional operations
The central bank operates a network of regional branches across the DRC, the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Branches can be found in Lubumbashi, Goma, Kamina, Kasumbalesa, Kikwit, Tshikapa, Ilebo and Matadi. In cities where the central bank is not present, a commercial bank can be appointed to represent it; Trust Merchant Bank performs such a role in Likasi and Kolwezi.