Branch Back in Service
The Central Bank of Syria reopened its branch in Hasakah on 2 July 2026, ending a shutdown that had lasted more than 18 months. The branch resumed work in a ceremony attended by the central bank governor and the governor of Hasakah province.
Accounts for Salaries
The branch's first priority is to open current accounts for government institutions and departments in the province, a step meant to speed the processing of salaries and wages for public employees. Restoring those accounts locally removes a bottleneck that had forced financial business to be handled elsewhere.
Exchanging Old Notes
Officials said the branch will begin exchanging old banknotes at the start of the coming month. The service is part of wider efforts to bring cash handling and formal banking back to a province that had been cut off from the central banking system for years.
Timing With the Harvest
The reopening coincides with the wheat marketing season. Local banking access is expected to help provide liquidity to farmers selling their grain, allowing payments to move without the delays that come with routing transactions through distant branches.
Part of a Wider Push
The move follows the reopening a day earlier of the central bank's branch in Idlib, which had been closed for about ten years. The Syrian pound (SYP) traded near 13,000 to the US dollar (USD) on 2 July 2026, and extending formal banking into more provinces is among the steps authorities are taking to widen the reach of the financial system.