The Bank of Somaliland is the monetary authority, central bank, and commercial bank of Somaliland.[1] Established in 1994, the central bank is provided for in the constitution of Somaliland. It has a head office in Hargeisa, in addition to sixteen other branches in the country.[2][3]
History
In 1952, National Bank of India (NBI), which later merged with Grindlays Bank to form National and Grindlays Bank, established branches in Berbera and Hargeisa in what was then British Somaliland. NBI, the first bank in the protectorate, was the banker to the colonial government until in 1960 the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland) joined the Trust Territory of Somalia (formerly Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. After the bloodless coup d'état of 1969 that saw Mohamed Siad Barre's ascension to power, in 1971 the government nationalized the four foreign banks.