Afghanistan gets back to business

The country’s newly revitalized banking system throws up colourful characters and eccentric approaches to marketing. But overseeing it all is a rigorous central banker with solid US commercial banking experience. Eric Ellis reports.

By Eric Ellis

The tribulations of Delawari

Hayatullah Dayani, a director of Azizi Bank, walks into a branch from his Hummer surrounded by armed guards

AFGHANISTAN’S LEADING COMMERCIAL banker doubles as a professional Las Vegas poker player. And his two-year-old bank is a joint venture with partners drawn from currency traders in the Afghan hawala system, the widespread informal money-transfer network the US wants to shut down because it suspects it is used by Islamist extremists to move money to finance their terror campaigns.

Afghanistan gets back to business

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Afghanistan gets back to business

Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!To unlock this article:

Regulators should be upfront with taxpayers – and admit all deposits are guaranteed

The FX Files: Is it the end of the line for single-dealer platforms?

The Danish Compromise tests Europe’s appetite for regulatory easing

What can US bankers really expect from Trump’s deregulation impetus?

Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!
To unlock this article: