Da Afghanistan Bank currently has around 52 branches throughout the country, with seven of these in
Kabul, where its headquarters is also based.[8] As of December 2023, individual bank customers cannot withdraw more than 70,000
afghanis ($1,000) a week.[9][10][11]
Seal of the bank
The seal of Da Afghanistan Bank has the name of the bank in
Pashto at the top and
Latin script at the bottom, the year 1939 in which it was established, and a depiction of a
Eucratides I-era coin with the
Greek text, "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" which means "Of the great king Eucratides".
Mission
Basic tasks of DAB are:
Formulate, adopt and execute the
monetary policy of Afghanistan.
Act as banker and adviser to, and as fiscal agent of the state.
License, regulate and supervise banks, foreign exchange dealers, money service providers, payment system operators, securities service providers, securities transfer system operators.
Establish, maintain and promote sound and efficient systems for payments, for transfers of securities issued by the state or DAB, and for the clearing and settlement of payment transactions and transactions in such securities.
Accept foreign bank applications from banks that wish to operate in Afghanistan.[13]
DAB owned about US$7 billion in assets held at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York.[33] After the 2021 Taliban seizure of power, a group of about 150 relatives of
victims of the
September 11 attacks attempted to use a judgement from the
SDNY case Havlish v. Bin Laden to gain control of these assets, asserting that they were now legally the Taliban's and thus could be used to pay damages to 9/11 victims' families.[34] After a period of deliberation, the
Biden administration went along with the request, dividing the assets into two halves, one of which would be allocated to the plaintiffs as potential damages, and the other which would be used to set up a trust fund to "support the needs of the Afghan people" but which the Taliban government would remain barred from accessing.[35][36] On 26 August 2022, a judge recommended to not award damages as the bank is "immune from jurisdiction" and that it would "acknowledge" the Taliban as the legitimate Afghan government.[36]