Imperial Bank of Persia
The Imperial Bank of Persia ( Bank -e Shahi ) was founded on January 30, 1889 Iran bank. The share capital of the Bank amounted to GBP 1 million.
The bank had received from Naser al -Din Shah, a monopoly concession to issue Persian banknotes and fulfilled therefore, although entirely in British hands, the function of an Iranian national bank. Also, the bank's management was completely in British hands. The banking license was granted for 60 years. Muzaffar al-Din Shah received a loan of £ 40,000 in return for the concession. The establishment of the bank was made after a 1872 issued by Naser al -Din Shah to Baron Julius Reuter concession, which provided for the establishment of a bank, among other things, lack of funds could not be realized.
The operations of the Bank extended to the whole territory of Iran. The Bank held in Iran 23 branches and thus also had the control of the local money market in their hands. In addition, the Bank maintained smaller branches in Iraq, Bombay and London. About the Imperial Bank of Persia and the extensive foreign loans were liquidated, the United Kingdom granted Muzaffar al-Din Shah and later the Iranian state. In addition, the Bank provided loans for trade, crafts and industry, particularly mining.
Only with the assumption of the regency by Reza Shah lost the Imperial Bank of Persia its function as a national bank. Under Reza Shah one are owned by the Iranian state National Bank ( Bank Melli ) was founded in 1927. In 1931 she lost the privilege to print the Iranian banknotes. This task was taken from there to the Bank Melli.
The Imperial Bank of Persia, was the telegraph lines led next to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company ( APOC ) and in 1868 by the British Siemens Company, a subsidiary of Siemens, founded Indo-European Telegraph Company, founded in 1909 by Iran, the third major economic investment of the British, who dominated the economic development of Iran for a long time.
Having lost its function as Iranian National Bank, it was renamed the British Bank of the Middle East ( BBme ). 1959 BBme was acquired by HSBC. Its business in Iran, the Bank has set a long time.
After the Iranian Revolution, the Imperial Bank of Persia acquired again by the fact celebrity, that the great-grandfather of Khomeini named Jajal was employed as a janitor and security guard at the branch of the bank in Bombay. Jajal at the time was a Hindu. Since the bank had mainly to do with Muslim businessmen, suggested the management Jajal to be Muslim, which he did. From that time on he called himself Hamed. After Hamed had been killed in clashes between Muslims and Hindus, his son Ahmad the post at the Imperial Bank of Persia. From Bombay he was transferred to the branch Bushehr and later to Najaf. In Najaf left Ahmad Hindi, the grandfather of Khomeini, the Imperial Bank and was a bodyguard of Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi.