Ex-Minister Slams Frequent Change of Central Bank Chiefs

TEHRAN (FNA)- A former Iranian minister blasted President Ahmadinejad for changing the Central Bank governors so frequently.

Davoud Danesh Jaafari, who served as Finance Minister in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet until April 2008, told FNA that if the government did not define its relations with the Central Bank and the Monetary and Credit Council, further reshuffles would be inevitable.

He blamed the government’s policy of undertaking too many projects and plans with financial requirements as the root of the rift between the government and the banking system.

“Now, the question that could be raised is what is the exact amount of our banking resources. Either the government has unrealistic expectations or the banking system is not trying to meet the government’s needs,” he added.

Danesh Jaafari added that while Central Bank Governors remain in their post for years in other countries, the Ahmadinejad government has so far replaced the CBI governor twice.

The former chief of Iran’s Central Bank, Tahmasb Mazaheri resigned in September and the government appointed Mahmoud Bahmani, another senior official in the economic institution as the new governor.

Mazaheri’s resignation came amid a dispute over interest rates, which the government insists should remain low despite skyrocketing inflation in the country.