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| 1889 19 Aug
188- |
Baron Julius de Reuter, a British-German financier with a history of financial agreements in Persia, secured a concession from the Persian government. This concession allowed him to establish the Imperial Bank of Persia. The bank was the first modern bank in Iran and introduced European banking ideas to a country in which they were previously unknown. The concession gave him exclusive rights to issue banknotes, manage the state's revenues, and establish branches in various Iranian cities.
The bank was given the authority to handle customs duties and foreign trade, which were significant sources of revenue for the Persian government. The bank was also responsible for managing the government's foreign debts and helping Iran to raise capital in international markets.
As usury was forbidden under Islam, the traditional money lenders in Iran were the Jewish sarrafs, who continued to dominate the field after the establishment of the Imperial Bank due to greater loan flexibility and cultural ties. At the time the only form of money in circulation was gold and silver coins. In 1890 a similar Russian bank known as the Loan and Discount Bank of Persia was founded. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 split Iran into a Russian and British sphere of influence. It assigned to the Russian Loan and Discount Bank the revenues from the amortization of Persian debts in northern Iran, and the same for the British Imperial Bank in southern Iran. Bank Melli, an Iranian-controlled central bank, was established in 1928. [Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu'l-Baha's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East by Kamran Ekbal p3; Wikipedia] |
Colonialism and imperialism; History (general); Iran; Iran, General history |
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