Fifteen new banks are likely to join Iran’s financial system in the next three years, said EN (Eghtesad Novin) Bank CEO Hassan Motamedi on Sunday.
Currently 30 banks are operating in Iran, some of which are not state-owned. In recent year, the banking system has been expanding and privatized in line with the surge of money supply.
EN bank, the first private bank registered in Iran, has a clear expansion plan up to 2021, the CEO added.
The Tehran-based lender came under gossip fire last week, after rumors circulated the media on fraudulent conduct by the bank and Motamedi flying out of the country. The news allegedly came from the intelligence ministry. Both the ministry and the lender’s CEO denied the rumors within 48 hours. “The target was definitely not Eghtesad Novin, but the entire banking system,” Motamedi said on National TV, last Wednesday.
EN Bank’s shares closed flat at 2,090 rials on Sunday, hitting a 2,163 rial high and a 2,050 rial low during the trading session. The lender’s shares have remained unchanged in the past week.
The lender which is currently listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange as one of Iran’s top 200 companies operates throughout Iran with over 2,000 employees, 622 ATMs and 200 branches.
