On 1 July 1960, the newly independent Republic of Somalia established the Banca Nazionale Somala (National Bank of Somalia) to take over the activities of the Cassa per la Circolazione Monetaria and the Mogadishu branch of Banca d’Italia. The new bank combined central banking activities with Commercial Banking activities. In 1968, the Somali Republic’s civilian government merged the Somali Credit Bank (Credito Somalo) with the Banca Nazionale Somala. The earlier trusteeship administration had established the Somali Credit Bank in 1954 in the Trust Territory of Somalia.

On 8 February 1975, the government renamed the Banca Nazionale Somala to the Central Bank of Somalia (Bankiga Dhexe ee Soomaaliya). It also merged the Somali Commercial Bank and Somali Savings and Credit Bank (Cassa di Risparmio e Credito Della Somalia) to form the Commercial and

Savings Bank of Somalia, which was at the time the only bank in the country.

In 1990 the Commercial and Savings Bank of Somalia discontinued operations. At some point the Central Bank of Somalia too ceased functioning. In 2009, the Transitional Federal Government re-opened the Central Bank of Somalia in Mogadishu as part of its campaign to restore national institutions.

The Bank had an additional branch in Baidoa that was already operational with personnel in place. The Bank was revived and strengthened with the “CBS Act of 2012*, is operationally independent; and its mandate includes promoting and maintaining the stability of the value of the Somali Shilling, regulating the financial system, and facilitating economic growth through a sound banking and monetary policy.

The Central Bank of Somalia serves the public interest by safeguarding monetary and financial stability and by working to ensure that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. It has cultivated an open and supportive culture that is seen and described as “One Bank”, where employees work collectively towards the Bank’s stated mission. CBS Management & Employees are proud of the work that they do and enshrine the organizational culture.