Iran’s Central Bank lacks independence, Parliament study says

Bloomberg: The Iranian Central Bank needs more independence from the government in order to combat inflation, according to the country’s Parliament Research Center.

By Ali Sheikholeslami

July 2 (Bloomberg) — The Iranian Central Bank needs more independence from the government in order to combat inflation, according to the country’s Parliament Research Center.

The bank scored 31 percent in a study carried out to measure its independence from the government, the research center said on its website today. Control over monetary policy should be in the hands of an autonomous body in order to reduce inflation, it said.

Iran’s monetary and banking laws have not undergone significant change since their introduction 38 years ago, while the inflation rate has not fallen below 11 percent in the past 17 years, the research center said.

Iran is dependent on oil to finance budget spending, and the foreign currency proceeds from crude sales are managed by the Central Bank. The bank’s governor is selected in a process that can be controlled by government, the center has said in earlier reports.