Iran keeps tight grip on Central Bank
The governor of the Central Bank of Iran is defending his performance just as political groups are fighting for authority over the governor position, while the bank needs greater independence to stabilize Iranian markets.
In an open letter published Nov. 15, Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), defended his organization's performance in the past year, elaborating in detail how he adopted a series of effective monetary policies to curb hyperinflation, direct liquidity into specific markets, regulate the volatile foreign currency market and help end the recession.
The letter, though not directly addressing any particular issue, comes just at the moment when political groups in Tehran are fighting for the legal authority to appoint and dismiss the CBI governor and improve the CBI’s standard of independence.
Seif's letter coincided with an approval by the Expediency Council — a body tasked with hashing out the differences between the parliament and the administration or the Guardian Council — which is responsible for ensuring that legislation agrees with Islamic law and the constitution — regarding the election and dismissal procedure of the CBI's governor.
Early in November, the council slightly modified the requirements for the appointment of a new governor, but its decision was widely criticized for failing to include serious steps to make the body truly independent form the administration.
