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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Historical Development of Money and Banking in Eritrea from the Axumite Kingdom to the Present
Author:Rena, RavinderISNI
Year:2007
Periodical:African and Asian Studies
Volume:6
Issue:1-2
Pages:135-153
Language:English
Geographic term:Eritrea
Subjects:banking
economic history
monetary policy
Economics and Trade
History and Exploration
colonialism
Development and Technology
External link:https://doi.org/10.1163/156921007X180613
Abstract:This paper examines the history of money and banking in Eritrea, covering the periods of the Axumite kingdom, the Italian (1890-1941) and British (1941-1952) colonial administrations, the Ethiopian regime (1952-1991) and the postindependence period (1991 up to the present). In the 3rd century AD coins were minted in the Axumite kingdom, but the exact time of the first coin minting in Axum is unknown. When the Italians colonized Eritrea in 1890 they introduced their own currency, the lire. The first modern banks were established in this period. The British extended banking services to the local people, a milestone in the transfer of banking skills to Eritreans. In 1952, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia, and the Eritrean banking system was subjected to the regulation of the State Bank of Ethiopia. In 1991 Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia, and the banks that were formerly acting as branch banks of the Ethiopian Commercial Bank were reorganized to form the Commercial Bank of Eritrea. During the postindependence period the Bank of Eritrea, the Housing and Commerce Bank of Eritrea and the Eritrean Development and Investment Bank were established. The first Eritrean currency, the 'nakfa', replaced the Ethiopian 'birr' in 1997. From that moment on, Eritrea had the authority to formulate and conduct its own monetary and foreign exchange policy. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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