Surge in BMI Interest-Free Loans

Bank Melli Iran has provided over four million Qarzol-Hassaneh (interest-free) loans worth 87 trillion rials ($2.3 billion) in the past four years, the bank’s website announced. The value of interest-free loans jumped 45% year-on-year during the Iranian year that ended March 20, 2017, as BMI doled out interest-free loans worth 29 trillion rials ($760 million) last year. The lender had registered an increase in Qarzol-Hassaneh loans two years ago as well, but last year these loans dipped by 8% YOY. BMI, the first national Iranian bank, was founded in 1928 by a parliamentary order. Since then, it has consistently been one of the most influential Iranian banks. It is now the largest commercial retail bank in the country with over 3,300 branches and 43,000 employees.