Central Bank of Myanmar

The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) is the statutory monetary authority of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. It is responsible for issuing the national currency, conducting monetary policy, supervising banks and other licensed financial institutions, supporting financial stability, and administering elements of the country's foreign-exchange system. The bank is headquartered in Nay Pyi Taw and maintains branches in Yangon and Mandalay. The institution was established as the Union Bank of Burma under the Union Bank of Burma Act of 1947. It began operations on 3 April 1948, shortly after independence, and assumed the functions previously performed by the Rangoon branches of the Reserve Bank of India. At its establishment, the Union Bank of Burma held the sole right to issue currency in the country. The institution was subsequently renamed and reorganized as the Central Bank of Myanmar. A major institutional change occurred in 2013, when Myanmar's parliament enacted the Central Bank of Myanmar Law. The law provided for the bank to operate as an autonomous and independent regulatory body, although its work remains closely connected with the country's wider public-finance and economic-policy framework. The CBM's responsibilities include oversight of state-owned and private banks, licensing and supervision of non-bank financial companies, regulation of prudential requirements, and monitoring of financial-sector conditions. The bank uses both on-site examination and off-site monitoring in its supervisory work. On-site reviews assess banks' financial activities, internal controls, management, transactions, and compliance with applicable laws and CBM instructions. Off-site supervision relies on periodic reports submitted by financial institutions, including weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual information. Its regulatory framework has included rules concerning reserve requirements, capital adequacy, liquidity, non-performing loans, provisions for doubtful debts, and limits on large or concentrated lending. The reference material notes that some prudential requirements were aligned with standards associated with the Bank for International Settlements, while implementation of more advanced Basel standards remained a longer-term process. The CBM also has a role in developing Myanmar's payments infrastructure. Work on a national standardized QR-payment system began in 2019. The resulting MyanmarPay, commonly referred to as MMQR, was launched in February 2025. The system is intended to create a common QR-payment standard and promote interoperability across participating payment providers and financial institutions. The bank's operations have been heavily affected by Myanmar's political crisis. During the 2021 coup d'etat, military authorities removed the civilian-appointed governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung and deputy governor Bo Bo Nge. Than Nyein was appointed governor by the State Administration Council, and Than Than Swe was appointed on 19 August 2022. She became the first woman to serve as governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar. The political intervention also led to the prosecution and imprisonment of former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge, whose 20-year sentence in December 2022 was described in the reference material as arising from politically motivated corruption charges. As a central bank, the CBM does not market conventional consumer products. Its principal outputs are public monetary and regulatory functions: currency, payment-system infrastructure, banking licenses and supervision, foreign-exchange administration, and policies intended to preserve financial stability. Its institutional position is therefore that of a national monetary authority rather than a commercial bank or conventional financial-services brand.

The Central Bank of Myanmar originated as the Union Bank of Burma. Established under the Union Bank of Burma Act of 1947, it opened on 3 April 1948 after Myanmar's independence. The new institution took over the functions of the Rangoon branches of the Reserve Bank of India and received the exclusive authority to issue currency in the country. Its original premises were located at the corner of Merchant Road and Sule Pagoda Road in Rangoon, now Yangon. Over time, the Union Bank of Burma developed into the country's central monetary and banking institution and later became known as the Central Bank of Myanmar. Its responsibilities expanded beyond currency issuance to include monetary policy, banking regulation, foreign-exchange administration, and oversight of financial stability. The bank supervises both state-owned and private banks and has also licensed non-bank financial companies. The reference material records 27 licensed non-bank finance companies at the end of October 2020. The Central Bank of Myanmar Law enacted by parliament in 2013 marked an important institutional transition. The law established the CBM as an autonomous and independent regulatory body. In carrying out its supervisory role, the bank uses on-site examination and off-site monitoring. On-site work reviews financial activity, management systems, internal controls, transactions, and compliance. Off-site monitoring draws on regular reports submitted by banks. The CBM has issued requirements covering reserves, capital adequacy, liquidity, non-performing-loan classification, bad-debt provisioning, and single-lending limits. Some of these requirements were designed with reference to international banking standards, although the reference material indicates that implementation of Basel II remained incomplete at that stage. The bank has also participated in the modernization of Myanmar's payments sector. In 2019 it began developing a national QR-payment standard. That initiative eventually produced MyanmarPay, or MMQR, which was launched in February 2025. The platform represents an effort to establish a common technical standard for QR payments and increase interoperability within the domestic financial system. The institution's governance was disrupted by the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat. Military authorities removed governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung and deputy governor Bo Bo Nge, who had been appointed under the previous civilian administration. The State Administration Council appointed Than Nyein as governor. On 19 August 2022 it appointed Than Than Swe, who became the first woman to lead the central bank. The political crisis also affected former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2022 on corruption charges that the reference material describes as politically motivated. Today, the CBM remains Myanmar's principal monetary authority and banking regulator. Its institutional activities include issuing and managing the Myanmar kyat, conducting monetary and foreign-exchange functions, regulating financial institutions, supervising banks through periodic reporting and examinations, and developing payment infrastructure. Because it is a public monetary authority, its principal services are regulatory and infrastructural rather than commercial products sold to consumers.

• 2025

  MyanmarPay (MMQR) launched

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  The national QR-payment standard MyanmarPay, also known as MMQR, was launched in February 2025.

• 2022

  Than Than Swe appointed governor

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  Than Than Swe was appointed governor on 19 August 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the office.

• 2021

  Central-bank leadership removed after coup

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  Military authorities removed governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung and deputy governor Bo Bo Nge during the political transition following the coup.

• 2019

  National QR-payment standard project begins

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  The CBM began work on a standardized national QR-payment system later identified as MyanmarPay or MMQR.

• 2013

  Central Bank of Myanmar Law grants institutional autonomy

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  Parliament enacted the Central Bank of Myanmar Law, establishing the CBM as an autonomous and independent regulatory body.

• 1948

  Union Bank of Burma begins operations

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  The Union Bank of Burma opened on 3 April 1948 and assumed the currency-issuance and related central-banking functions previously performed by the Rangoon branches of the Reserve Bank of India.

• 1947

  Union Bank of Burma Act enacted

  [1]Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org

  The legal framework for establishing the Union Bank of Burma was enacted before the institution began operations.

Myanmar's national monetary authority and financial-sector regulator

• Currency management · 1948

  Myanmar kyat currency issuance

  The CBM holds responsibility for issuing and managing Myanmar's national currency, the kyat. Currency management is one of the institution's foundational functions, inherited from the Union Bank of Burma, which held the country's sole currency-issuance authority when it began operations in 1948.

• Payment infrastructure · 2025

  MyanmarPay (MMQR)

  MyanmarPay, also called MMQR, is a national standardized QR-payment system developed under the CBM's direction. Work began in 2019 and the standard was launched in February 2025. It is intended to support common QR-payment practices and interoperability among participating financial and payment-service providers.

• Financial regulation

  Banking supervision

  The CBM supervises state-owned and private banks through on-site examinations and off-site monitoring. Its supervisory framework covers areas such as reserve requirements, capital adequacy, liquidity, non-performing-loan classification, provisioning for doubtful debts, and single-lending limits.

• Financial regulation

  Non-bank financial institution licensing

  The central bank licenses and oversees non-bank finance companies as part of its broader financial-sector mandate. The reference material reported 27 licensed non-bank finance companies at the end of October 2020.

• 2022

  Imprisonment of former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge

  Former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2022 on corruption charges. The available reference describes the case as politically motivated and places it within the broader post-coup disruption of the central bank's civilian leadership.

  Source

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• 2025

  Launch of MyanmarPay (MMQR)Product launch

  Background

  The central bank's multi-year effort to establish a national QR-payment standard reached implementation stage.

  Action taken

  The CBM launched MyanmarPay, also known as MMQR, in February 2025.

  Aftermath

  The launch created a nationally standardized QR-payment framework, although the available source does not provide adoption or transaction figures.

  Source

• 2019

  Development of a national QR-payment standardProduct launch

  Background

  Myanmar's financial system needed a common framework for QR-based payments and greater interoperability among payment providers.

  Action taken

  The CBM began work on a national QR-payment standard, later branded MyanmarPay or MMQR.

  Aftermath

  The initiative culminated in the launch of MyanmarPay in February 2025.

  Source

• 2013

  Adoption of an autonomous central-bank frameworkStrategy

  Background

  Myanmar's parliament enacted a new Central Bank of Myanmar Law as part of the country's institutional and financial-sector reforms.

  Action taken

  The law established the CBM as an autonomous and independent regulatory body with responsibility for monetary and financial-sector functions.

  Aftermath

  The change provided a formal statutory basis for the CBM's regulatory role and its supervision of banks and other financial institutions.

  Source

1. 1Central Bank of Myanmaren.wikipedia.org