The CEO of a public-sector bank has stricken back at the critics of the banking industry, saying that all lenders should not be “tarred by the same brush.” Abdolnasser Hemmati, CEO of Bank Melli--the largest Iranian bank--told the press on Tuesday that banks are doing their best and thus do not deserve to come under fire. Hemmati acknowledged that the banking system is facing multiple problems but blamed the condition on “wrong policies” adopted by the previous government and the sanctions against the banking system. “Management and structural flaws combined with a poor banking culture have given rise to some challenges for banks, putting their balance sheets in the red,” Hemmati was quoted as saying by IRNA. He added that 90% of the national projects are financed through banks, which have not been able to raise capital during the past decade. Hemmati emphasized the need for banks to increase their assets and hoped that with the flow of foreign capital into the country, banks would perform a better duty in financing short-term projects.
