Bank Melli Iran Monday held a ceremony to celebrate last week’s Pro League Championship of Esteghlal Khuzestan, its affiliate football club. Mohammad Reza Hosseinzade, BMI acting director, said the bank would continue to support the team at the upcoming AFC Champions League, banker.ir reported. Esteghlal Khuzestan was formerly affiliated with the National Steel Group and was handed over to BMI last year after the group’s owner faced financial difficulty. BMI was initially reluctant to sponsor the team but its extraordinary performance in the Pro League made the bank change its mind. BMI is the largest state-owned commercial bank in Iran and the Middle East with over 3,300 domestic branches and 43,000 employees. It has 18 branches overseas.
