The Central Bank of Syria (CBS) is the central bank of Syria. The bank was established in 1953 and started operations in 1956. Its headquarters are in Damascus, with 11 branches in the provincial capitals.[2] The objective of the bank is "to foster the stability, integrity and efficiency of the nation’s financial and payment systems so as to promote optimal macro economic performance".[3]
The CBS issues Syria's currency, the Syrian pound (LS), and sets the intervention price in the foreign currency market for the Syrian pound on a daily basis. The CBS exercises control over all banks operating in Syria. Its SWIFT code is CBSYSYDA.
History
After independence, French and British-owned banks dominated banking activity in Syria. The largest bank, the French-owned Banque de Syrie et du Liban (Bank of Syria and Lebanon), assumed central bank functions and became the bank of currency issue, in addition to its commercial operations. Syria joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 10, 1947[4] and fixed the exchange rate at £S 2.19 to US$1.