Title I: Nature, Purposes, Capital and Domicile

Section 1. The Central Bank of Chile is an autonomous entity of technical nature created in accordance with constitutional provisions, has full legal capacity, possesses its own assets and has an indefinite duration. The present Act regulates its organization, structure, duties and authority. Whenever the expression “Bank” is herein used, it shall be understood to mean the entity to which this Section refers.

The Bank shall have its domicile in the city of Santiago and shall have the authority to open and close agencies, offices and branches within or outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Republic.

Section 2. The Bank shall, with regard to its duties and authority, be governed exclusively by the provisions of this Act and it shall not be bound for any legal purposes, by provisions present or future, general or special, enacted for the public sector. In the absence of regulatory provisions and provided the matter is within the scope of the Banks’s duties and authority, provisions regulating the private sector shall apply.

The authority granted to the Bank by law shall not be exercised in a manner which, directly or indirectly, may result in the establishment of regulations or requirements different or discriminatory to any person, institution or entity conducting business of similar nature.

Section 3. The Bank shall have as its purposes to look after the stability of the currency and the normal functioning of internal and external payments.

The authority of the Bank, for these purposes, shall include that of regulating the amount of currency and credit in circulation, the performance of credit transactions and foreign exchange, as well as the issuance of regulatory provisions regarding monetary, credit, financing and foreign exchange matters.

Section 4. The Bank shall inform the President of the Republic and the Senate with regard to the policies and regulations of general applicability issued by the Bank in the performance of its duties. Likewise, it shall advise the President of the Republic, upon his request, in all matters within the scope of its duties.

Section 5.The initial capital of the Bank shall be the amount of $ 500,000,000,000 (five hundred billion pesos). The capital may be increased by decision of the majority of the Council members, through capitalization of reserves and adjusted by means of monetary correction.

The capital may be increased by decision of the majority of the Council members, through capitalization of reserves and adjusted by means of monetary correction.

The Bank shall, by justified decision of the majority of the Council members, be entitled to request from the Minister of Finance the increase of its capital or the making of specific contributions to its assets on account of funds to be appropriated under the Nation’s Budget Act.