Central Bank of Libya (CBL)

The Libyan Central Bank is wholly owned by the Libyan state.

Its functions include issuing banknotes and coins; stabilising the currency; managing reserves of gold and foreign exchange; acting as banker to the commercial banks; supervising commercial banks; advising the state on formulation and implementation of financial and economic policy; and managing and issuing all state loans.

The Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) is an offshore institution wholly owned by the Central Bank.

=Governance=

Management is entrusted to a Board of Directors, with the Governor as Chairman. The Governor is responsible for policy implementation and management of affairs.

Farhat Bengdara was governor of the Central Bank from 2006-2011, when he defected to Turkey during the Libyan revolution. As of January 2013, Saddek Omar Elkaber was current governor of the Bank.

=History=

The CBL represented the monetary authority in Libya. It was established in 1951, and began operations in 1956, with the objective of maintaining monetary stability in LIbya and promoting the sustained growth of the economy in accordance with the economic policy of the state. It replaced the Libyan Currency Committee.

In a 2011 interview, defected former governor Bengdara stated that 95-96 percent of the Central Bank's money was held in the US and Europe.

Sanctions were imposed on the bank by the UN during the uprising that year. But in December 2011 the UN Security Council finally lifted sanctions on both the Central Bank and the LFB in order "to underpin the social and microeconomic stability of the new Libya."

In a statement released in April 2011, the anti-Gaddafi rebels reported that they had designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya, and had appointed a new governor, with temporary headquarters set up in Benghazi. It is unclear what became of the bank subsequently.

As a country Libya faced a sharp liquidity crunch during the uprising, which had a serious impact on investment levels. But in June 2012 the Central Bank lifted restrictions on withdrawing money from banks and urged businessmen and companies to deposit their money in banks. Governor Elkaber also said that a recently approved Islamic banking law would soon go into effect, a law that aims to attract deposits to Shariah-compliant lenders outside the banking system.

=External Links=

Official website: www.cbl.gov.ly

=References=