The two first commercial banks in Nicaragua opened in 1888. The Bank of Nicaragua (Spanish: Banco de Nicaragua), later rebranded as the Bank of Nicaragua Limited, headquartered in London and then merged with the London Limited Bank of Central America, and the Mercantil Agricultural Bank (Spanish: Banco Agrícola Mercantil) that went bankrupt for non-payment of their debtors.
Next year, the National Bank of Nicaragua, Incorporated (Spanish: Banco Nacional de Nicaragua, Incorporado) opened its doors in the capital city of Managua. In addition to regular banking services, the National Bank of Nicaragua was the only bank authorised to issue banknotes for the Republic of Nicaragua.[1]