The Central Bank of Syria (CBS) (Arabic: مصرف سورية المركزي, Masrif Suriat Almarkazi) is the central bank of Syria. The bank was established in 1953 and started operations in 1956. Its headquarters are in Damascus, with 11 branches in the provincial capitals. The largest bank, the French-owned Banque de Syrie et du Liban (Bank of Syria and Lebanon), assumed central bank functions and became the bank of currency issue, in addition to its commercial operations. Syria joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 10, 1947 and fixed the exchange rate at 2.19 Syrian pounds to US$1.