Central Bank of Iran

Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران
Seal of Central Bank of Iran
Seal of Central Bank of Iran
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorMohammad-Reza Farzin
Central bank ofIran
CurrencyIranian rial
IRR (ISO 4217)
Reserves$130 billion (2017)[2]
Reserve requirements10% to 13%[3]
Bank rate15%[4]
Interest paid on excess reserves?Yes[5]
Standard tableau of Central Bank of Iran
Organization overview
Formed9 August 1960; 64 years ago (1960-08-09)
Preceding organization
JurisdictionIslamic Republic of Iran
HeadquartersCBI Tower, Tehran
35°45′29″N 51°26′07″E / 35.758110°N 51.435209°E / 35.758110; 51.435209
Parent organizationNone
Child agencies
Key document
Websitewww.cbi.ir
1 According to article 10(e) of the Monetary and Banking Act of (1972), CBI's capital "is fully paid up and wholly owned by the Government".
2 Bank Melli Iran had supervisory functions and regulated the activities of all banks in Iran, while being the largest profit-making commercial bank in the country.[6]

The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI; Persian: بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران, romanized: Bank Markazi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān; SWIFT Code: BMJIIRTH), also known as Bank Markazi, was established under the Iranian Banking and Monetary Act in 1960, it serves as the banker to the Iranian government and has the exclusive right of issuing banknote and coinage. CBI is tasked with maintaining the value of Iranian rial and supervision of banks and credit institutions. It acts as custodian of the National Jewels, as well as foreign exchange and gold reserves of Iran.[7] It is also a founding member of the Asian Clearing Union, controls gold and capital flows overseas, represents Iran in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and internationally concludes payment agreements between Iran and other countries.[7]

In November 2023 after 50 years central bank was revamped fully and changed to include Islamic Republic Development Bank.[8] The Central Bank was cyberattacked by IRLeaks in August 2024. The Iranian government was forced to pay ransom to the hackers in order to secure the data of Iranian customers.[9][10]

  1. ^ Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
  2. ^ Kasolowsky, Raissa (10 April 2018). King, Larry (ed.). "UPDATE 3-Iran clamps ceiling on dollar holdings in effort to support rial". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Effective Reserve Requirement at 2.1%". Financial Tribune. 24 July 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  4. ^ Hafezi, Parisa (15 February 2018). King, Larry (ed.). "Iran raising deposit rates to control rial's depreciation, TV reports". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  5. ^ Zahedi, Razieh; Azadi, Pooya (June 2018). Central Banking in Iran (PDF) (Report). Stanford Iran 2040 Project (Working paper ed.). Stanford University. Table 1, page 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Basseer, Clawson, Floor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Yeganeh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "ضمانت استقلال و اقتدار بانک مرکزی با قانون جدید". dolat.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Iran's Central Bank Hit by Major Cyberattack". OilPrice.com. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Iran pays millions in ransom to end massive cyberattack on banks, officials say". POLITICO. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.