Banking and Payments Authority (BPA) is transformed into the Central Bank of Timor-Leste (CBTL)
On 13 September, the Timor-Leste Banking and Payment Authority officially became the Central Bank of Timor-Leste, at a ceremony held in its headquarters.
The Acting Prime Minister, José Luís Guterres, considered "this transformation important, from the Banking and Payments Authority into the Central Bank of Timor-Leste because it will benefit Timor-Leste in the quality of a new country, thus ensuring a sustainable independence of the Petroleum Fund ".
The President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, stressed that "this transformation will improve the supervision and management of the State budget. The sovereign countries around the world have a Central Bank, as an organ of competence, credibility and independence. Today's event reflects the beginning of a new challenge, a test for the consolidation and institutional capacity of this Country".
Ramos-Horta appealed to the TLCB to continue to maintain their independence and strengthen its transparency.
The Governor of the Timor-Leste Central Bank, Abraão de Vasconcelos, said that "the creation of the Timor-Leste Central Bank is an initiative to control the activities carried out by private banks scattered across the territory, and thus can advance with Accounting and Transparency, defining the powers conferred by its functions as Central Bank and allowing the process of supervision by the Public".
Abraão de Vasconcelos also noted that in the TLCB emblem the figure of a buffalo is represented that characterizes the Timor-Leste property and symbolizes the concept of stability and transparency in the Timorese financial system.
Participating in this ceremony were the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, the President of the National Parliament, Fernando Lasama de Araújo, the acting Prime Minister José Luís Guterres, The President of the Court of Appeal, Claúdio Ximenes, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Good Governance, Development and Humanitarian Coordination of UNMIT, Finn Reske-Nielsen, the former President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, the former Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, the Proclamator of Independence, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, members of the National Parliament, members of the Government and diplomats.
