2 Pesos Circulating note

The Philippine National Bank was chartered in 1916 specifically to address the credit vacuum left by foreign banks unwilling to finance Philippine agriculture and small industry. This note entered circulation almost immediately after the bank's founding, making it among the earliest instruments the PNB issued under its own authority rather than through colonial treasury arrangements.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's involvement was a deliberate political choice — Washington wanted Philippine paper currency to carry the same production credibility as U.S. Federal notes. That relationship with the BEP persisted across multiple Philippine issuing authorities well into the Commonwealth period.