The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ایران, romanized: Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British[1] bank that operated as the central bank and bank of issue in Iran (formerly known as Persia until 1935) between 1889 and 1929.[2] 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 Christian and 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.[3] 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.
- ^ State Bank or Agent of Empire? The Imperial Bank of Persia's Loan Policy 1920-23 Frances Bostock Iran, Vol. 27, (1989), pp. 103-113 Published by: British Institute of Persian Studies Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4299822
- ^ Geoffrey Jones (2013). Entrepreneurship and Multinationals. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-78254-818-8.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
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