Banks Need to Shed 10,000 Branches

There are more than 22,000 bank branches in Iran, about half of which are not needed, a deputy minister of economy said on Sunday.  
Abbas Memarnejad, the deputy economy minister for banking, insurance and state-owned companies' affairs said 10,000 branches are extra, IRNA reported. 
Majority of the unwanted offices belong to state-owned banks. Based on data for the month to April 21, state-run banks and credit institutions had 9,930 branches by the end of second month of the current fiscal year that ends next March.