DAMASCUS, Dec 31, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Syrian authorities have appointed Maysa 
Sabreen as interim central bank governor, a bank official told AFP on 
Tuesday, the first time a woman heads the financial establishment.

Sabreen, until recently the bank's first deputy governor, took her new 
position on Tuesday, said a department manager at the Central Bank of Syria 
who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

"We received an internal circular yesterday assigning Dr Maysa Sabreen to run 
the Central Bank of Syria in a caretaker capacity," he said.

He did not say when her interim mandate was due to end.

Sabreen, a Syrian banking expert, held the position of first deputy governor 
since 2018.

She has also served on the central bank's management committee, the Damascus 
Stock Exchange board of directors, the national Accounting and Auditing 
Board, the Monetary and Credit Council, and the Real Estate Finance 
Supervision Authority board of directors.

Mohammed Issam Hazime, who headed the central bank before her, was appointed 
in 2021 under the rule of Bashar al-Assad who was ousted by Islamist-led 
rebels on December 8.

Syria's national currency has lost about 90 percent of its value since the 
start of the civil war in 2011, plummeting from 50 pounds to 12,000-15,000 to 
the US dollar.