At independence, French-and British-owned banks dominated banking activity in Syria. 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. In 1947 Syria joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar at 2.19148 Syrian pounds = 1 US dollar, a rate that was maintained until 1961.