# The Central Bank of Somalia (Bankiga Dhexe ee Soomaaliya), 1960 to today

> The history, governors, powers and current work of the Central Bank of Somalia, from the Somali National Bank of 1960 to the 2012 Act, the 2013 resignations and the planned return of the shilling.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/central-bank-of-somalia/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The short version

The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) is the country's central bank, based in Mogadishu. Under the Central Bank of Somalia Act (Law No. 130 of 22 April 2012) it must ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)):

- set monetary and foreign exchange policy, and hold the country's foreign reserves;
- license, regulate and supervise all banks and financial institutions;
- run and oversee payment systems;
- act as banker, adviser and fiscal agent to the government;
- be the only issuer of Somali notes and coins;
- publish monetary, financial and balance of payments statistics.

The bank has not issued Somali currency since 1991, and the economy is "largely dollarized" ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)). See [The Somali shilling and the dollar](/en/economy/somali-shilling-and-the-dollar/).

## History

From the bank's own history page ([CBS, History](https://centralbank.gov.so/history/)):

| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1950 | The Cassa per la Circolazione Monetaria della Somalia is set up in Rome to issue the somalo |
| 1954 | Credito Somalo set up to lend to farming, livestock and industry |
| 30 June 1960 | Somali National Bank created by Decree-Law No. 3; opens on 4 July 1960 |
| 1961 | Currency unified; the north moves from the East African shilling to the Somali shilling |
| 1962 | First Somali shilling banknotes |
| 1968 | Somali Credit Bank merged into the Somali National Bank |
| 1975 | Renamed the Central Bank of Somalia; until then it had also done commercial banking |
| 1970s | Banks nationalised under the military government |
| January 1991 | Operations stop when the state collapses |
| 2001 to 2010 | Former central bankers keep the institution going for the transitional governments |
| 2012 | Re-established under the Central Bank Act |

For the wider story, see [Economic history](/en/economy/economic-history/).

## Governors

| Governor | In office |
|---|---|
| Mohamed Mohamud Ulusow | 2001 to 2005 (Transitional National Government) |
| Bashir Isse Ali | 2005 to 2010 |
| Abdullahi Jama Ali | 2012 to early 2013 |
| Abdusalam H. Omer | January to September 2013 |
| Yussur A. F. Abrar | 13 September to 1 November 2013 |
| Bashir Isse Ali | November 2013 to April 2019 |
| Abdirahman M. Abdullahi | April 2019 to today |

Source: [CBS, History](https://centralbank.gov.so/history/).

## The 2013 resignations

In July 2013 the UN Monitoring Group on [Somalia and Eritrea](/en/relations/eritrea/) reported that, on average, about 80 percent of withdrawals from the Central Bank were made for private purposes. It said the bank worked as a "slush fund" for a patronage system rather than to pay for government spending, and named the governor, Abdusalam Omer, as "key to these irregularities". It also said $12 million of $16.9 million transferred by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers could not be traced ([Jakarta Post, 20 July 2013](https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/07/20/un-experts-say-corruption-still-rampant-somalia.html); [WardheerNews, citing Reuters](https://wardheernews.com/somalia-bank-governor-asks-u-n-for-audit-amid-slush-fund-claims)). Omer denied the allegations and asked the UN for an independent audit of the bank, and the government called the report a "gross misrepresentation" ([WardheerNews, citing Reuters](https://wardheernews.com/somalia-bank-governor-asks-u-n-for-audit-amid-slush-fund-claims); [Hiiraan Online, July 2013](https://hiiraan.com/news4/2013/July/30443/somali_govt_refutes_un_corruption_allegation_as_unbalanced.aspx)). Omer left in September 2013.

His successor, Yussur Abrar, resigned after about seven weeks. In her letter she wrote that "the central bank has not been allowed to function free of interference, and as such cannot operate as a credible institution" ([VOA, November 2013](https://www.voanews.com/a/somali-central-bank-chief-quits-over-graft-concerns/1783161.html); [OCCRP, 5 November 2013](https://occrp.org/en/news/somalia-head-of-central-bank-resigns-citing-corruption)).

## The bank today

- **Board.** Seven members: the governor (chair), deputy governor Dr Ali Yassin [Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) Ali, and five non-executive members. It met 10 times in 2025 and has audit, licensing and supervision, currency, and human resources committees ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)).
- **Who it licenses.** At the end of 2025: 13 local banks, 1 foreign bank branch, 14 money transfer businesses, 6 mobile money operators and 7 microfinance firms (same source). See [Licensed banks and money companies](/en/economy/licensed-banks-and-money-companies/) and [Banks in Somalia](/en/economy/banks/).
- **Payments.** Since 2020 it has built a national payment system, an IBAN numbering system, the SOMQR code standard and the Somalia Instant Payment System ([CBS, History](https://centralbank.gov.so/history/)). See [Mobile money in Somalia](/en/economy/mobile-money/).
- **New laws in 2025.** Parliament passed a revised Financial Institutions Law in May 2025 and an Insurance Law allowing Takaful ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)).
- **The shilling.** The bank is preparing a currency board to bring back the Somali shilling, with changes to the Central Bank Act before Parliament and reserve management rules approved by the board (same source).
- **IMF programme.** Its reforms are tied to the IMF Extended Credit Facility for 2023 to 2026. From 2016 onwards the IMF set it benchmarks under four staff-monitored programmes, starting with a currency reform roadmap (same source).
- **Board members in 2025.** Abdirahman M. Abdullahi (Governor), Dr Ali Yasin Sheikh Ali (Deputy Governor), Dr Aues Abo Scek, Faysal A. Warsame, Prof. Abdullahi Sh. Ali, Prof. Hussein A. Warsame and Hanifa Mohamed Ibrahim ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)).
- **Microfinance and takaful.** It licensed the first seven non-deposit-taking microfinance institutions on 9 November 2025 ([CBS, 9 November 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Central-Bank-of-Somalia-Grants-First-Licences-to-Microfinance-Institutions.pdf)) and the first takaful (Islamic insurance) companies in January 2026 ([CBS, 27 January 2026](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Central-Bank-of-Somalia-CBS-Grants-First-Licenses-to.pdf)).
- **Credit information.** With the International Finance Corporation it is building a credit information system and a register of collateral ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)). It works to a Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2029 (same source).

## What the law asks it to do

The Central Bank of Somalia Act (Law No. 130 of 22 April 2012), Part II section 5, gives the bank eight jobs ([CBS, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)):

1. Make and carry out monetary policy and foreign exchange policy.
2. Hold and manage Somalia's foreign exchange reserves.
3. License, regulate and supervise all banks and financial institutions.
4. Set policy for payment, clearing and settlement systems.
5. Run those systems where it makes sense.
6. Act as banker, adviser and fiscal agent to the government.
7. Be the only issuer of Somali notes and coins.
8. Gather and publish monetary, financial and balance of payments statistics.

The constitution lists the central bank as one of three independent offices, with the Attorney General and the Auditor General ([Provisional Constitution 2012, Article 114, via Constitute Project](https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Somalia_2012)). See [Independent commissions](/en/institutions/independent-commissions/).

## How to use it

- **Check a licence:** before you put money with a bank, money transfer firm or microfinance company, check that it appears on the bank's published licence lists ([CBS, licensed banks](https://centralbank.gov.so/licensed-banks/)).
- **Read the numbers:** the annual report and statistics are free on the bank's website.
- **[Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/):** the [Bank of Somaliland](/en/institutions/bank-of-somaliland/) in Hargeisa does this work in Somaliland. See [Somaliland's institutions](/en/institutions/somaliland-institutions/).

## Its legal basis

Central Bank of Somalia Act, Law No. 130 of 22 April 2012; Article 114 of the 2012 Provisional Constitution; Financial Institutions Law 2025; Insurance Law 2025.

## Sources disagree

- **The founding of the currency office.** The bank's history page dates the Cassa per la Circolazione Monetaria to 1950 in one place and 1949 in another, and gives the start of the somalo as both 16 May and 16 July 1950 ([CBS, History](https://centralbank.gov.so/history/)).
- **The 2013 figure.** Reports of the UN monitors' findings give "about 80 percent" of withdrawals as an average, while Reuters reported "almost three-quarters" for September 2012 to April 2013 ([Jakarta Post](https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/07/20/un-experts-say-corruption-still-rampant-somalia.html); [WardheerNews, citing Reuters](https://wardheernews.com/somalia-bank-governor-asks-u-n-for-audit-amid-slush-fund-claims)).
- **The years 2010 to 2012.** The bank's list of governors has a gap between Bashir Isse Ali's first term, which it ends in 2010, and Abdullahi Jama Ali's start in 2012 ([CBS, History](https://centralbank.gov.so/history/)).

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