Bank Melli has so far allocated a total of 200 trillion rials ($667 million) in loans to the completion of unfinished projects across the country in the present year, said Abdolnaser Hemati, the bank’s CEO.
“The sum total of the loans allocated to this cause starting from last September amounts to 420 trillion rials ($ 1.4 billion),” he said, addressing a meeting of the bank’s branch managers in the northern Caspian city of Babolsar, IRNA reported Monday.
He also announced his bank’s plans to help to boost the economy in the second half of the fiscal year that started on March 21.
“Through a change in credit allocations and a shift in lending priorities to support consumption of locally manufactured goods, we intend to stimulate demand for domestic products that have had lackluster sales. This in turn will stimulate manufacturing and boost revenues of industrial units.”
The senior banker referred to the extended recession and said the sharp fall in government revenues due to the plunge in global oil prices are the causes of the present economic woes.
Valiolah Seif, governor of the Central Bank of Iran had earlier instructed government banks to prioritize lending to manufacturers. He had urged banks to help improve sales in sectors hurt by the recession.
