Banking Channels Reopen
Syria's central bank has begun reactivating correspondent banking relationships with foreign lenders, officials said at a regional conference on development and investment in Syria held in Amman on 21 and 22 September 2026. The move is a step toward restoring the cross-border payment links that Syrian banks lost during years of isolation.
The governor of the Central Bank of Syria framed access to the global banking system as the precondition for any recovery. "There is no development or investment without banking channels, and no banking channels without relationships built on sound foundations," he told delegates.
Seven Groups Eye New Banks
Seven delegations expressed interest in establishing new banks inside Syria, a senior central bank official said, adding that any licensing would proceed through the regulatory procedures set out in Syrian law. The interest signals a tentative return of foreign financial capital to a market long closed to it.
Bank supervisors also reported that correspondent relationships already restored are expected to expand, widening the range of transactions Syrian institutions can clear abroad.
Invitation to New York
For the first time, Syria has been invited to an international banking conference in New York hosted by the Federal Reserve, where a dedicated session will examine the Syrian banking sector and its potential reconnection to international financial networks, including the SWIFT messaging system. Access to SWIFT is central to routing international payments.
Reform Roadmap to 2030
Officials outlined a Central Bank reform strategy running from 2026 to 2030 that covers supervision, payment-system development, updated legislation and anti-money-laundering compliance. Regional banking bodies offered training, technical support and infrastructure assistance to help carry it out.
What It Means
Rebuilding correspondent banking and payment access would lower the cost and risk of trade and remittances that now move largely through informal channels. A functioning banking bridge to the outside world is widely seen as a condition for any durable stabilization of the Syrian pound (SYP) against the US dollar (USD).