Imperial Bank of Persia

The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ایران‎‎; Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British bank that operated as the state bank and bank of issue in Iran (formerly known as Persia until the 1930s) between 1889 and 1929. It was established in 1885 with a concession from the Persian government to Baron Julius De Reuter (born Israel Beer Josaphat) a German–Jewish banker and businessman who later became a British subject.

The bank was the first modern bank in Iran and introduced European banking ideas to a country in which they were previously unknown. The legal centre of the bank was in London and whilst it was subject to British law, its activities were based in Tehran. It also had operations in other Middle Eastern countries. It was later named British Bank of the Middle East (BBME) and is now called HSBC Bank Middle East Limited. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, all the Iranian activities of this bank were transferred to Bank Tejarat.

Nineteenth-century Iran has been described as "one of the most backward countries in the world." The traditional money lenders in Iran were the Jewish sarrafs, who continued to dominate the field after the Imperial Bank's arrival due to greater loan flexibility and cultural ties. At the time the only form of money in circulation were gold and silver coins.

Reuter was granted Reuter concession in 1872 which granted him exclusive rights over virtually all the resources in the land of Persia. It also gave him monopoly over banking for sixty years. The concession was hidden from the British government till the last minute, and alarmed both British and Russian governments upon its revealing. The concession was resented by the local population, which protested that the Shah has granted all the resources of the land to a Jew and by Russians who saw the British competing with their interest in Persia. Due to mounting pressure, the Shah subsequently cancelled the concession in 1873, citing the fact that Reuter failed to initiate the railway project within 15 months.

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