Iranian president accepts central bank governor’s resignation
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accepted the resignation of Mohammad Reza Farzin as governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), with officials saying a former finance minister will replace him.
The head of the communications and information department at the Iranian president’s office said on Monday that Abdolnasser Hemmati will be officially appointed as CBI governor at a cabinet session planned for Wednesday.
Mehdi Tabatayi gave no further details about the appointment.
However, earlier reports on Monday suggested that Farzin had stepped down following protests by shop owners against the steep rise in foreign currency prices in Tehran’s market.
The US dollar closed at 1.39 million rials on Monday, down from a record high of 1.44 million rials a day earlier.
The surge has led to discontent among businesses in Iran’s traditional bazaar, which argue that rising currency prices fuel inflation and reduce customer footfall.
Farzin was appointed CBI governor in December 2022 following what was described as a relatively successful stint as CEO of Bank Melli, Iran’s largest state-owned lender.
He reportedly told members of Iran’s parliament earlier this month that the supply of hard currency to the central bank, largely derived from oil export revenues, had declined in recent months.
Hemmati previously served as CBI governor from August 2018 to 2021, when he resigned to run as a candidate in Iran’s presidential election held that year.
He was also Iran’s finance minister in the second half of 2023 before he was impeached and dismissed by the parliament for his failure to contain rising gold and currency prices.
The 68-year-old economist is a professor at the University of Tehran’s School of Economics and has also held senior positions at several major banking and insurance institutions in Iran over the past decades.
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