The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) is the central bank of the Kingdom of Swaziland and is the issuer of the Swazi Lilangeni. It was established on March 22, 1974 and is headquartered in the capital Mbabane.

History

Swaziland became independent from the United Kingdom on September 6, 1968. On March 22, 1974, King Swaziland II of Swaziland issued the Monetary Authority of Swaziland Order of 1974, which began preparations for the establishment of the Monetary Authority of Swaziland. On April 1 of the same year, the Swaziland Monetary Authority officially began operations. On the day of Independence Day on September 6 of the same year, the MAS issued the legal tender Swaziland Lilangeni. At the beginning of the establishment of the MAS, there were only eight staff members, but as the operation progressed, the president continued to recruit qualified new staff and add functional areas of business. By Christmas 1974, the MAS had a total of 27 staff. Shortly after, on July 18, 1979, the King amended the 1974 decree, and in accordance with the revised new decree, the Swaziland Monetary Authority was renamed the Central Bank of Swaziland and began to assume more central bank functions. As of March 31, 2008, with the continuous expansion of the establishment of the Central Bank of Swaziland, the staff has been expanded to 270.

Objectives and Functions

Objectives

The mission of the Central Bank of Swaziland is to maintain financial stability in Swaziland and to promote the development of the Swaziland economy.

Functions

The Central Bank of Swaziland, in accordance with the Central Bank of Swaziland Order 1974, which was promulgated in 1974 and amended in 1979, has the following statutory duties:

• To formulate and implement a sound monetary policy to maintain financial stability.
• Manage and supervise the Financial Institution Group to promote the efficient operation of the financial system.
• Issue and recycle legal tender, including banknotes and coins.
• Hold and manage foreign exchange reserves.
• Provide advice to the government on monetary and financial matters.
• Serve as lender of last resort to the Financial Institution Group to promote the stable development of domestic financial marekts.
• Develop and operate the payment system of the central bank.
• Conduct research on monetary, financial and economic matters to support the formulation and implementation of monetary policy.

Organizational Structure

The Central Bank of Swaziland has 244 employees as of March 2014. The highest governing body of the bank is the Board of Directors. The board of directors shall be composed of 9 people according to law, including the governor, deputy governor, and 7 directors; one of the 7 directors must be a government official under the public finance department. The president is the ex officio chairperson of the board of directors, appointed by the king on the advice of the prime minister, and the rest of the board of directors is directly appointed by the minister of public finance. The office of the governor is directly under the board of directors, and there are various executive departments under the office of the governor,