Relief for Foreign Currency Loan Defaulters

Foreign currency loan defaulters will see some restrictions lifted, if they were to repay a portion of their debts, the Cabinet ministers have decreed.

President Hassan Rouhani's ministers approved that debtors, who have defaulted on their loans, will no longer be denied bank services, provided they pay back at least 25% of their debts, IBENA reported.

Foreign currency loan defaulters are prohibited from opening letters of credit, receiving any form of loans in rial or foreign currency and opening current accounts.

These changes have been incorporated as appendants to the Law on Removing Hurdles to Competitive Production.    

In accordance with appendants signed by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, debtors have until the end of the third month of the next fiscal year (June 21) to repay 25% of their debts and until the end of the next fiscal year (March 20, 2018) to clear the total amount of their dues.

“Dates set in this directive will not be extended under any circumstances and if the receivers of loans do not move to clear their debts within the set timeframe, they must do so in accordance with the guidelines of foreign exchange reserve account,” reads the directive.

Furthermore, benefits of the directive will be extended to all debtors who have so far cleared their debts as per the directive’s conditions.