Sepah Emerges as Biggest Lender

The recent bank merger of five banks and credit institutions linked to the military forces with the state-owned Bank Sepah has turned the latter into the biggest bank in Iran. 
The megamerger elevated Sepah in terms of total deposits, branches and payroll leaving behind the Bank Melli Iran, another top state-owned lender, according to Farhad Hanifi, the Central Bank of Iran vice governor for supervisory affairs. 
The merger was finalized on Dec. 20 after an arduous two and a half years. It involved Bank Sepah, the oldest in Iran and one of the three still under government ownership, four banks and one credit institution owned by the Iranian armed forces, namely Ansar Bank, Bank Hekamat Iranian, Mehr Eqtesad Bank, Ghavamin Bank and Kosar Credit Institution.