IN 2003, FOUR decades after Syria nationalized its economy in the name of its socialist economic model, president Bashar al-Assad approved legislation allowing for the creation of privately owned banks. Until the first private bank opened its doors early in 2004, the country had just seven public-sector banks, of which only one was commercial, Commercial Bank of Syria.
The poor state of the domestic banking sector contributed towards the creation of a cash economy at home and the extensive use by Syrians of foreign banking services.
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