Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
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Established | 1960 |
Ownership | entirely Government owned |
Governor | Valiollah Seif |
Central bank of | Iran |
Currency |
Iranian rial IRR (ISO 4217) |
Website | www.cbi.ir |
The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI; Persian: بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران, aka Bank Markazi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān) is the central bank of Iran. It is entirely government owned. Among its major purposes are: maintenance of the value of the national currency (rial), balance of payments as well as facilitating trade transactions and contributing to the economic advancement of the country. The Central bank is in charge of laying and implementing monetary and credit policies of the country. The importation of goods, issuance of documentary credits and registration of orders for documentary bills of exchange for imports are also done in accordance with the policies of the Central Bank. It is a member central bank of the Asian Clearing Union.
During the Achaemenid era, trade boomed and subsequently banking operation expanded to an extent that Iranians managed to learn the banking method from the people of Babylon.
The first attempt at introducing paper currency in Iran occurred during the Mongol Ilkhanate of the 13th century CE. The innovation, developed in Song Dynasty China, did not take hold in Iran, and paper currency did not return to Iran in any significant manner for several centuries.