Banco del Estado de Chile, commercially operating under the brand BancoEstado, is the only Public Bank in Chile and was created by government decree in 1953. It provides financial services to consumers and companies, with a focus on national coverage in terms of geography and social sectors and a particular emphasis on the unbanked and small and medium enterprises, although it serves all types of businesses. It is the country's largest mortgage lender and largest issuer of debit cards. In addition, BancoEstado performs part of the Chilean government's financial activities through the accounts managed by the General Treasury of the Republic of Chile. The bank was created by Decree no. 126 of 1953, which merged the National Savings Bank, Mortgage Credit Savings Bank, Agrarian Credit Savings Bank and Industrial Credit Institution into a single institution. By the end of 2009, BancoEstado was the third-largest bank in Chile, covering all areas of the country via branches or delegate banking contact points called CajaVecina. As of 2018, the bank had 417 branches, 107 smaller offices, 3,701 automated services and 25,400 CajaVecina contact points. It is the only bank with presence in all the communes in the country, reaching geographically isolated areas where no other bank is present. Until 2018, the bank reached 134 localities that had no other banking services Since 2012, Global Finance magazine has ranked BancoEstado as the safest Bank in Latin America, while in 2015 it was ranked as the 48th-safest bank in the world.
Legal framework
BancoEstado is regulated mainly by the provisions of the Organic Law of the Bank of the State of Chile, which defines the bank as an autonomous state-owned company with separate legal personality and its own assets, supervised exclusively by the Bank and Financial Institution Board. The bank deals with the Government through the Ministry of Finance. As a banking institution, BancoEstado is subject to the laws applicable to banks generally as well as those regulating the private sector as a whole, and thus is not governed by general laws and regulations aimed at the public sector. In 2005, BancoEstado was the first Chilean bank to open a branch in New York. This branch operates under the U.S. banking law.
Subsidiaries
The bank has several subsidiaries that complement its activities. Among these are the following:
Stock and securities trading: BancoEstado Corredores de Bolsa S.A.
Insurance: BancoEstado Corredores de Seguros S.A.
Mutual funds: BancoEstado Administradora General de Fondos S.A.
The bank also has a program known as "BancoEstado Cine" which since 2004 has supported Chilean film production.
Industry development
By a decision of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, BancoEstado's mission includes fostering the development of private companies. To this end the bank has created several programs, including:
