MCC Prolongs Interest-Free Loan Repayment Period

The Money and Credit Council, the main decision-making banking and monetary body, has agreed to extend the repayment period for Qarzol-Hassanah (interest-free microcredit) loans. 
According to a press release seen on the website of the Central Bank of Iran, the repayment period has been extended from 36 months to five years. 
The CBI said the MCC in August raised the Qarzol-Hassanah loan ceiling to 500 million rials ($1,850), up from 300 million rials in the past. 
Resalat Qarzol-Hassanah Bank and Qarzol-Hassanah Mehr Iran Bank are the two main banks that give low-interest loans. Commercial and specialized banks too allocate a portion of their funds to interest-free lending.   
The MCC is the main decision-maker when it comes to Qarzol-Hassanah loans. It regularly raises the loan caps considering economic factors such as purchasing power and inflation. 
Given their usury-free mandate, interest-free microcredit institutions generate income from loan fees at an annual rate of zero to four percent to pay wages and administrative and operational costs.
According to latest data released by the CBI, the outstanding Qarzol-Hassanah loans amounted to 2,751.9 trillion rials ($10.3 billion) in 12 months to Dec. 21. 
By the end of the mentioned period, total Qarzol-Hassanah deposits in banks jumped 44.3% to 2,783.2 trillion rials ($10.5b).