Export Development Bank of Iran has provided loans to 155 small- and medium-sized enterprises since the beginning of the Iranian year (March 20), which mostly include producers of exportable goods such as carpets, nuts, seafood, leather and saffron.
Ali Salehabadi, EDBI’s CEO, said SMEs accounted for 17% of his bank’s lending, adding that about 30 other businesses that have applied for loans are about to receive theirs, EDBI’s website quoted him as saying on Sunday.
The Central Bank of Iran has ordered banks and credit institutions to allocate a minimum 10% of their loans to SMEs to help create jobs and lift the beleaguered production sector.
“Some 3,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises have managed to take out loans from the banking sector since March 19,” Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the industries minister, said.
CBI Governor Valiollah Seif has predicted that by the end of September, all the needy SMEs (about 7,500) will be financed with the planned 160 trillion rials ($5.1 billion), ISNA reported.
According to Salehabadi, Tehran, Kerman, Fars, Khorasan Razavi and Yazd provinces have received the lion’s share of the credits.
Bank Sepah–another state-owned bank– also announced that it has paid 6 trillion rials ($193.2 billion) to 800 SMEs since March 20, according to Mohammad Kazem Choghazardi, Bank Sepah’s CEO.
“The banking sector, the CBI, provincial officials and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade are working closely to finance SMEs,” he added.
Bank Melli Iran has also allocated 8.6 trillion rials ($277 billion) to 1,248 SMEs during the five-month period.
According to Mohammad Reza Hossein-Zadeh, loan requests by 821 businesses are pending with BMI, with their loans becoming available in a month.
