In their latest meeting, the cabinet members agreed to raise additional capital for the Central Bank of Iran. The bank’s capital is now set to be raised by 6.4 trillion rials ($186.9 million), according to Eghtesad News. The decision came after CBI Governor Valiollah Seif informed President Hassan Rouhani of the need in mid-December. The capital increase will raise the central bank’s equity to 43.4 trillion rials ($1.26 billion), from a previous 37 trillion rials ($1.08 billion) from the bank’s contingency reserves. To improve the state of the central bank and help stabilize the banking system, Seif had asked that CBI’s capital be raised, the debt of the government and state-owned companies to the CBI be paid, and the ceiling for compulsory lending – loans the government forces banks to pay for wasteful purposes – be decreased.
