The Bank of the State and the state of the Bank: Annual Accounts of the Banco de España, 1872-94

Abstract

This paper examines the disclosure practices in the Annual Reports of the Banco de España spanning the period 1872 to 1894. Although established as a privately owned bank, the Banco de España developed a close and increasingly symbiotic relationship with the Spanish State during the nineteenth century. This relationship was further strengthened in 1874 when the State conferred upon the Bank the exclusive right to issue bank notes for use throughout the country. With this privilege, the relationship between the Bank and the State was sealed. The paper argues that it was more this relationship rather than factors associated with it size, nature of operations or the nature of its competitive environment that influenced the disclosure practices of the Bank.