Da Afghanistan Bank

Central bank of Afghanistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Da Afghanistan Bank (Pashto: د افغانستان بانک, romanized: Də Afǧānistān Bānk), also known as the Central Bank of Afghanistan (Dari: بانک مرکزی افغانستان, romanized: Bānk-i Markazī-yi Afǧānistān) or simply Bank of Afganistan, regulates all banking and monetary transactions in Afghanistan.[7] Established in 1939, the bank is wholly government-owned. It is active in developing policies to promote financial inclusion and a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.[8]

CentralbankofAfghanistan
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Established17 November 1939
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
Quick facts Central bank of, Headquarters ...
Da Afghanistan Bank
د افغانستان بانک
Central bank ofAfghanistan
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Established17 November 1939
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorNoor Ahmad Agha[2]
CurrencyAfghani
AFN (ISO 4217)
Reserves$10 billion[3][4][5][6]
Websitewww.dab.gov.af
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Da Afghanistan Bank currently has around 52 branches throughout the country, with seven of these in Kabul, where its headquarters is also based.[9] Individual bank customers are allowed to withdraw up to 350,000 afghanis ($5,000 USD) a week or up to 1 million afghanis a month.[10] Taxes are paid directly to the central bank, and there is a policy against officials handling tax money.[11]

Seal of the bank

The seal of Da Afghanistan Bank has the name of the bank in Pashto at the top and Latin script at the bottom, the year 1939 in which it was established, and a depiction of a Eucratides I-era coin with the Greek text, "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" which means "Of the great king Eucratides".

Mission

Basic tasks of DAB are:

  • Formulate, adopt and execute the monetary policy of Afghanistan.
  • Hold and manage the official foreign-exchange reserves of Afghanistan.
  • Print and issue afghani banknotes and coins.[12]
  • Act as banker and adviser to, and as fiscal agent of the state.
  • License, regulate and supervise banks, foreign exchange dealers, money service providers, payment system operators, securities service providers, securities transfer system operators.
  • Establish, maintain and promote sound and efficient systems for payments, for transfers of securities issued by the state or DAB, and for the clearing and settlement of payment transactions and transactions in such securities.
  • Accept foreign bank applications from banks that wish to operate in Afghanistan.[13]

List of governors

More information No., Portrait ...
No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Notes Ref.
1 Habibullah Malie Achekzai 1954 1960 [14]
2 Abdul Hay Azizi 1960 1975
3 Mohammad Hakim Khan 1975 1980
4 Ghulam Hussain Jujeni 1980 1982
5 Mehrabuddin Paktiawal 1982 1985
6 Abdul Basir Ranjbar 1985 1988
7 Mohammad Kabir 1988 1990
8 Khalil Sediq 1990 1991
9 Abdul Wahab Asefi 1991 Unknown
10 Najibullah Sahu 1992 Unknown [15]
11 Zabihullah Eltezam Unknown 1993
12 Ghulam Mohammed Yailaqi 1993 1993 [16]
13 Mohammad Hakim Khan 1993 1995 Second term [17]
14 Ehsanullah Ehsan 1996 1997 During first Taliban government [18]
15 Abdul Samad Sani 1997 Unknown During first Taliban government [19]
16 Mohammad Ahmadi Unknown 2001 During first Taliban government [20]
17 Anwar ul-Haq Ahady 2002 2004 [14]
18 Noorullah Delwari 2011 2014 Second term
19 Abdul Qadir Fitrat 2007 2011 Second term
20 Noorullah Delwari 2011 14 January 2015 Second term [21]
21 Khan Afzal Hadawal 14 January 2015 8 July 2015 Acting [21]
22 Khalil Sediq 8 July 2015 2019 Second term [14]
23 Wahidullah Nosher 2018 unknown Acting [22]
24 Ajmal Ahmady 2019 August 2021 Acting [23]
25 Haji Mohammad Idris August 2021 March 2023 Acting
26 Hidayatullah Badri March 2023 July 2024 Acting [24]
27 Noor Ahmad Agha July 2024 Incumbent Acting [25]
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Members of the Supreme Council

In July 2021, the Supreme Council at DAB consisted of:[26][27]

  • Ajmal Ahmady
  • Shah Mohammad Mehrabi[28]
  • Katrin Fakiri
  • Abdul Wakil Muntazer
  • Muhammad Naim Azimi

Seizure of US-based assets

DAB owned about US$7 billion in assets held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.[29] After the 2021 Taliban seizure of power, a group of about 150 relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks attempted to use a judgement from the SDNY case Havlish v. Bin Laden to gain control of these assets, asserting that they were now legally the Taliban's and thus could be used to pay damages to 9/11 victims' families.[30] After a period of deliberation, the Biden administration went along with the request, dividing the assets into two halves, one of which would be allocated to the plaintiffs as potential damages, and the other which would be used to set up a trust fund to "support the needs of the Afghan people" but which the Taliban government would remain barred from accessing.[31][32] On 26 August 2022, a judge recommended to not award damages as the bank is "immune from jurisdiction" and that it would "acknowledge" the Taliban as the legitimate Afghan government.[32] On 21 February 2023, the request of the relatives was denied, with Judge George B. Daniels stating that he was "constitutionally restrained" from allowing access to the funds.[33]

See also

References

External links

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