Central Bank of Libya

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) is the monetary authority in Libya. It has the status of an autonomous corporate body. The law establishing the CBL stipulates that the objectives of the central bank shall be to maintain monetary stability in Libya and to promote the sustained growth of the economy in accordance with the general economic policy of the state.

Central Bank of Libya
مصرف ليبيا المركزي
CBL Logo
CBL Logo
CBL HQ
CBL HQ
HeadquartersAl Fatah Street, Tripoli
Established1 April 1956 (started operations)
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorSaddek Elkaber
Central bank of Libya
CurrencyLibyan dinar
LYD (ISO 4217)
Reserves71 010 million USD[1]
Preceded byLibyan Currency Committee
Websitecbl.gov.ly Tripoli, Libya
centralbankoflibya.org Al-Bayda

The headquarters of the Central Bank are in Tripoli. However, to make the CBL services more accessible to commercial banks, branches and public departments located far from the headquarters. The CBL has three branches, located in Benghazi, Sabha and Sirte.

History

The CBL was founded in 1955 under Act no. 30 (1955) started its operations on 1 April 1956 under the name of National Bank of Libya,[2] to replace the Libyan Currency committee which was established by the United Nations and other supervising countries in 1951 to ensure the well-being of the weak and poor Libyan economy.[3]

The bank was established in the former Savings Bank building (Italian: Cassa di Risparmio della Tripolitania), designed in 1921 by Armando Brasini and completed in the early 1930s.[4]

The Bank's name was changed to Bank of Libya under Act no. 4 (1963),[2] then to its current name Central Bank of Libya after the 1969 coup d'état.

In March 2011, the governor of CBL, Farhat Bengdara, resigned and defected to the rebelling side of the Libyan Civil War, having first arranged for the bulk of external Libyan assets to be frozen and unavailable to the Gaddafi government.[5]

On 6 December 2021, Tripoli-based Governor of the CBL Saddek Elkaber met with Bayda-based CBL governor, Ali Al-Hibri, who before the split had been Elkaber's Deputy Governor, in Tunisia and agreed to start unification of the CBL.[6][7] On 20 January 2022, Elkaber and Al-Hibri signed an agreement on a four-stage unification plan, with the appointment of Deloitte to oversee the process.[8][9] On 20 August 2023, the bank officially announced the completion of its reunification under Elkaber and his deputy in the east, Maree Raheel.[10]

Governors

This is list governors of The Central Bank of Libya since its establishment.[3][11][12][13] |29 يناير 2018[14][15] The Bank endured twice an administration split, first during the first civil war, (February–August 2011), then from September 2014 on, as a result of the ongoing civil war.

Name tenure start tenure end Notes
Ali Aneizi 26 April 1955 26 March 1961
Khalil Bennani 27 March 1961 1 September 1969
Kassem Sherlala 20 September 1969 17 January 1981
Rajab El Msallati 18 January 1981 3 March 1986
Muhammad az-Zaruq Rajab 4 January 1987 6 October 1990
Abd-al-Hafid Mahmud al-Zulaytini 7 October 1990 13 February 1996
Taher Al-Jehaimi 14 February 1996 22 March 2001
Ahmed Menesi 23 March 2001 5 March 2006
Farhat Bengdara 6 March 2006 6 March 2011
Abd-al-Hafid Mahmud al-Zulaytini 6 March 2011 2 April 2011 acting
Muhammad az-Zaruq Rajab 2 April 2011 August 2011
Ahmed S. El Sharif February 2011 April 2011 for NTC (in Benghazi)
Kassem Azzuz April 2011 12 October 2011 for NTC (in Benghazi to Aug. 2011)
Saddek Elkaber 12 October 2011 for GNC, later PC since Sep. 2014

See also

References
  1. Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
  2. Bank of Libya, Economic Bulletin-Statistical Supplement, Economic Research Division of Bank of Libya, July 1967.
  3. "Central Bank of Libya" (in Arabic). 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. Claudia Conforti (1990), "Armando Brasini's Architecture at Tripoli", Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre, Rome: Carucci Editore: 46–55
  5. FT interview dated 17 May 2011 here
  6. "In risk to future stability, rivalries hobble Libya's economy". The Arab Weekly. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  7. Assad, Abdulkader (6 December 2021). "Central Bank of Libya moves toward unification". The Libya Observer. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  8. Assad, Abdulkader (20 January 2022). "Libya's Central Bank launches unification process". Libya Observer. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. "Libya's rival central banks take steps to reunify in peace push". Reuters. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  10. "Libya's central bank announces reunification after nearly a decade of division due to civil war". AP News. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  11. "Appointing a New Governor of CBL" (in Arabic). 4 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  12. "Dismissing G. of CBL" (in Arabic). 14 September 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  13. "NTC dismisses G. Of CBL" (in Arabic). 12 October 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  14. Inauguration of Mohammed al-Shukri as CBL's governor (Arabic).
  15. Mohammed Al-Shukri returns to CBL as governor (Arabic).
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