Government Plans $12b Debt Swap Deal With SSO

The government plans to clear over 60% of its debt to the Social Security Organization (500 trillion rials or $12 billion) through a debt swap deal, the deputy minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare said.
“The debt is set to be swapped with the SSO-owned Bank Refah Kargaran’s dues owed to the Central Bank of Iran,” Ali Sarzaeem also told IRNA, emphasizing that this means “no payments are going to take place”.
Considering that the total debt figure of 800 trillion rials is almost half the figure quoted in the latest reports, Sarzaeem clarified that the smaller amount is what the government officially recognizes as its debt to SSO.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance said in mid-March that SSO is the biggest creditor of the Iranian government, as the organization accounts for 33% or 1,500 trillion rials (about $33 billion) of the government’s total debts.
Islamic Treasury Bill holders, CBI and public and private banks are the next four biggest government creditors, according to Economy Ministry reports.