The arduous path to independence in monetary decision-making from the government that many central banks have gone through remains the road not taken for Iran. But the new Iranian year, which began March 21, holds promise to prove the turning point bestowing the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) with its long overdue independence while also having the potential to yank the banking system out of its current state of limbo.
As President Hassan Rouhani vowed shortly after his second swearing-in ceremony last August following a landslide victory, his administration aims to become the first to instill fundamental banking reforms since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
