Banking in Iran Has British Root

Most of economic experts in the country unanimously believe that the  all economic inefficiencies in Iran is deep-rooted in  copy policy which has been taken by all 12 governments after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

According to this expert analysis, even banking system of Iran has been evaluated as some kind of duplicate of banking system of pre-Islamic Revolution era which had British root since the day one and British influence and penetration of their policies in the country have not yet been over.

In fact, one can confirm this assumption by have a glance at the history of banking in Iran. According to the existing documents in the history, for over 140 years the British had been after finding a system for having full control on the system of wealth as they considered it a genuine protective umbrella for any economy and it was the implementation of monetary operation in any country.

When they realized that this monetary power tool that could be an efficient one for guiding a society and creating classes in the society, and also it could be a tool to have full access to information and data about the accumulation of the wealth and their leaders, nobody thought that such a tool could be decisive in forming governments. This tool can weaken or strengthen the policies of guiding the budget in flow of money in any sector. And it can encourage any rich man by resorting to any means to join the rich club. Above all, it could increase the dependence of any economy to what the British themselves liked it.

We, during the eight years of Iraqi imposed war, were busy with invaders, in other words, we were busy with security of the country while they were taking the control of the national monetary and economic system which all were due to the sacrifice of the martyrs during the war. In our universities, political economics was weakened and it is still weak. This has caused that our students do not challenge and analyze the political goals of enemies at all.

The first modern bank, started its activities in Iran, was British-owned New Oriental Bank which opened 140 years ago, namely, in 1888. Later and after the establishment of banking system in the country, the New Oriental Bank was shortly replaced by another British-owned bank, the Imperial Bank of Persia (1889) which was set up by Julius de Reuter, which was to remain as a major financial institution in the country for more than six decades. Interestingly, the first branch of the bank opened in London.

Since 1889 to 1958 when Bank Mell Iran was born, all banking policies, decision-makings and major banking operations for over four decades were fully in control of the Imperial Bank of Persia with having about 40 branches in the country.

During the political conflict and rivalry between Britain and the U.S. under the strategy and directives of “Neoclonialism”, for the first time and on the persistence of then Iranian Prime Minister Qavam os-Saltaneh in 1932, Iran got its foreign loan from the U.S. to cover its budget deficit.

According to negotiations with the then U.S. President Harry Truman, Iran’s financial system was assigned to be administered under supervision of the U.S. advisers. This decision gradually weakened the authority of the Imperial Bank of Persia, and the policies of Bank Melli Iran replaced it. This behavior and attitude of the U.S. was exactly in compliance with creating political parties as well as titles of the public, national and the likes like title of kingdom, the court and nobleman. This policy was based on Arthur Millspaugh’s doctrine.

Millspaugh was an American financial expert and lawyer who was born in 1883 in a village in Michigan. He was twice hired by Iranian government between 1922-1927 and 1942-1945, seemingly, to reform Iran’s financial structure.  He actually with his American method entered Iran’s banking system which was fully under British dominance. Years later after simultaneous presence of the U.S. and UK in the process of organizing the financial system in Iran’s economy, Pahlavi Bank, Sepah Bank and Bank Rahni were born.

One can definitely say that after the Islamic Revolution, no modern method or policy for creating enough authority in banking has been launched in Iran, and also despite the demand for combatting with usury-based-banking system, the private banks also got license to function in the country and the decision was one of the masterpieces of President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s presidency!

That banking system in Iran has always been affected by certain currents should be taken seriously and that by pressures of banking interests reaching  sometimes 75% annually even in Bank Melli Iran, and people and experts today are tired of it, it is a good opportunity that penetration of a certain current into the Majlis is blocked in order that they cannot impose their ill-intentions by approving the so-called bill on reforming banking system which made people suffer from the usury economics. Unfortunately Iran is captive of hidden current makings where infiltrated traitors take advantage of it in favor of interests of others,  and we do not have enough tool for transparency.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian