Central Bank of Costa Rica

The Central Bank of Costa Rica is the country's central bank and primary monetary authority, headquartered in San Jose. It was established in January 1950 after Costa Rica nationalized its private banks in 1948, taking over functions previously shared among commercial banks and the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica. Wholly state-owned, it controls inflation, advises the government on economic policy, issues the Costa Rican colon, regulates commercial banks, and clears inter-bank funds, holding foreign reserves of about 7.62 billion dollars; it also maintains a collection of more than 6,500 pre-Columbian and other artifacts exhibited at the Plaza de la Cultura in San Jose.