Iranian Banks’ Foreign Assets Up 10%

The total value of Iranian banks’ foreign assets by August 22 stood at 2.54 quadrillion rials ($65.12 billion), marking an increase of 10.4% compared with the corresponding period of last year.

According to the latest data published by the Central Bank of Iran on Sunday detailing Iran’s economic indicators up to Aug. 22, private banks and non-bank credit institutions account for the biggest share of financial institutions' foreign assets at 1.56 quadrillion rials ($40 billion).

These institutions owned 61.4% of the total figure, showing a growth of 6.7% compared with the previous year's figures.

The five state-owned specialized banks also experienced a 17.9% surge in their foreign assets year-on-year to reach 610.4 trillion rials ($15.65 billion), accounting for 24% of the total sum.

The smallest share of foreign assets pertains to three commercial state-owned banks at 371.4 trillion rials ($9.5 billion), which account for the remaining 14.6% of banking system’s total foreign assets.

This is while the Central Bank of Iran’s foreign assets also experienced a slight year-on-year growth of 3.1%. The value of CBI’s foreign assets exceeds 3.5 quadrillion rials ($89.74 billion), which is significantly bigger than the collective value of all Iranian banks’ foreign assets.

Deposits

The Iranian private sector's deposits in banks and non-bank financial institutions reached 13.32 quadrillion rials ($341.5 billion) by Aug. 22, marking a 25% growth year-on-year.

By the end of the month to Aug. 22, private lenders managed to collect about 9.36 quadrillion rials ($240 billion) from the private sector’s deposits that equal 70.27% of their total savings in the banking system. The private lenders' deposits registered a growth of 22% compared with last year’s same period.

This is while commercial state-owned banks and specialized banks have respectively attracted 2.63 quadrillion rials ($67.4 billion) and 1.31 quadrillion rials ($33.6 billion) worth of savings from the private sector to account for 19.79% and 8.9% of the total deposits.

The volume of deposits commercial state-owned banks and specialized banks attracted up to the end of the aforementioned period has also increased by 39.6% and 19.6%, respectively.

According to CBI data, the amount of term deposits grew by 26.2% compared with the previous year, whereas the figure recorded a 10.5% growth during the five months ending Aug. 22.

A year ago, long-term deposits accounted for 53% of the total term deposits, which kept the balance in its favor against short-term deposits over the past year. However, the figures gradually swapped places and now short-term deposits got the upperhand and accounted for 54% of term deposits.

The trend indicates a shift toward short-term deposits, possibly a fallout from the imposition of new caps on long-term interest rates that put investors in a dilemma, trying to figure out the investment with the most returns.

The lion’s share of deposits were in the form of non-sight deposits that accounted for 91% of the total volume at 12 quadrillion rials ($307.7 billion), up 26.1% YOY. Sight deposits absorbed only 1.3 quadrillion rials ($33.3 billion), constituting 9% of the total sum.

The total volume of banks’ reserve requirements in CBI also witnessed an annual growth of 22% and reached 1.4 quadrillion rials ($35.9 billion), as a result of the establishment of new banks and credit institutions, and the significant recapitalization of state-owned banks.

Liquidity  

By the end of the month to Aug. 22, money supply exceeded 13.6 quadrillion rials ($348.7 billion), up by 24.3% YOY, according to the CBI data.

The volume of monetary base and money in circulation grew by 26.1% and 12.4% respectively compared with the previous year.