Jump in Collateral-Free Loans 

Banks and credit institutions gave 236 trillion rials ($747.5 million) in collateral-free loans after the government announced the new lending program in January.  
According to a press release of the Economy Ministry, the money was given to 703,460 applicants from mid-January to August 22. 
Loans allocated in the fifth month of the year reached 77.4 trillion rials ($244.2 million) or one-third of the total under the initiative.