Last week’s nuclear agreement between Iran and the major powers will create an enabling environment for the banking operations in the next three months, a banker has predicted.
“Banks should plan well ahead to get the most out of this unique opportunity,” Seyed Abdolnaser Hemati said speaking at a ceremony to welcome Siamak Dolati as the new managing director of Mehr Iran Bank.
Recalling the year of “Government-Nation: Empathy” as named by Leader Ayatoallah Seyed Ali Khamenei on March 21, he highlighted the important role of banks in helping the economy, saying that in post-sanction era banks can facilitate capital and technology flow into the country.
He also called on lawmakers and authorities to “render more support to the banking system.”
Iran and the P5+1 (the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) reached a framework agreement on Thursday that could end in a long-time deal by June 30 to settle a nuclear dispute between Tehran and the West. The deal is to lead to the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.
Though the lifting of sanctions could help the banking system grow to a large extent, Dolati noted “banks are also grappling with their own problems, some of which include excessive demand for funds from economic sectors, wrong policies in the past and investing banking resources in non-productive activities,” which must be addressed too.
At the end of his remarks, Hemati expressed hope that the new managing director contribute to the realization of the main mandate of the bank, which is helping the less-privileged people, as the bank mainly provides interest-free loans.
