Annual profit of state-run Iranian banks hits $1.4b: Minister
Iranian Minister of Economy Ehsan Khandouzi announced on Wednesday that during the last Iranian year, which ended on March 20, except Bank Sepah, all state banks came out of the loss-making mode and posted a net profit of 70 trillion tomans ($1.4 billion).
Speaking on state TV, the minister said that one of the long-standing problems of the country’s financing system was that state banks were suffering from a lack of discipline and legality, IRNA reported.
He added that one of the important decisions of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi was on transformational measures in the financial field and state banks.
A total of 13 out of 30 banks in the country are under government management, the minister said, noting that except for Bank Sepah, which was affected by the effects of the merger, all other state banks were out of loss-making.
“Seven years ago, out of 13 state-owned banks, six lenders posted a total loss of 12 trillion tomans, a year later, nine banks had totally 28 trillion tomans of loss, while five years ago, 11 banks state-run lenders had a loss of 9 trillion tomans, as in the Iranian year of 1398 (ended March 2020), six banks had generated a loss of about 15 trillion tomans,” he added.
The minister went to say that in the Iranian year of 1399, five banks were quite successful with 14 trillion tomans of profit, but again in 1400, the profitability of banks decreased and we had four loss-making banks, namely, Bank Keshavarzi Iran, Tose’e Ta’avon Bank, Bank Melli Iran, and Bank Sepah.
The government’s efforts are on the issue of banking discipline and legality, avoiding non-returnable payments, paying according to the country’s standards, and reminding the bank managers to comply with the law.