Following the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in September 1918, the Turkish Pound was replaced by a Sterling based Egyptian currency as legal tender in the states under the French and British mandate. The Egyptian Pound was issued by a private British institution, the National Bank of Egypt, and had been previously used by the British, since much of their supplies were from Egypt.

After taking Lebanon and Syria under its mandate, the French government sought the substitution of the Egyptian currency in order to alleviate the burden on the French Government in covering its expenditures in Egyptian Pound, and to assert its independence from the British. However, the use of the post war French Franc would have further exhausted the French Treasury.

The alternative was to grant a commercial bank the exclusive right to issue a currency for the States under Mandate.

The Banque de Syrie, a French company affiliate of the Ottoman bank, was established in 1919 with an initial capital of FF. 10 million, later increased to FF. 25.5 million. Of its 51 thousand shares, about 22% were owned by the Ottoman bank and 78% by French shareholder

 Mohamed El-Amin Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Trade

To fulfill its major functions, BDL cooperates with the Government to ensure exchange rate stability, control liquidity, impose credit restrictions, and issue banking regulations.

14. Training and Development Department

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Approximate Word count = 3784
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)