The Bank of Sierra Leone is the central bank

Central bank

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

. It issues the country's currency, known as the Leone

Sierra Leonean leone

-Banknotes:In 1964, the Bank of Sierra Leone introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 leones. 50 cents notes were added in 1979, followed by 10 leones in 1980 and 20 leones in 1982...

. The bank formulates and implements monetary policy

Monetary policy

Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...

, including foreign exchange

Foreign exchange market

The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...

.

The current governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone is Sheku Sambadeen Sesay, who was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma

Ernest Bai Koroma

Ernest Bai Koroma is the fourth and current President of Sierra Leone. He was sworn in as President on 17 September 2007 at the State House in the capital Freetown, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off in the 2007 Sierra Leone presidential election with 54.6% of the vote over...

 on July 1, 2009. He succeeded Samura Kamara

Samura Kamara

Samura Kamara is a Sierra Leonean economist and the finance minister of Sierra Leone. He was the governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone until March 2009, when he was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma to replace David Carew as Finance Minister.-Early life:Samura Kamara was born in the village...

 who took over as Sierra Leone Minister of Finance. The current deputy Governor is Andrina Rosa Coker, who was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma on October 6, 2008.

The Bank Headquarter is at Siaka Stevens Street in the Central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 in Downtown

Downtown

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....

 Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

.

In order to create an independent economy for the new country, the government drafted legislation to create a central bank and a new currency.