As part of the process of merging five banks and credit institutions affiliated to the armed forces with Bank Sepah, the shares of the lenders are sold on Sunday.
The share offer will last for 30 days to end on May 7. Each merged bank will offer its shares at different prices, state TV reported.
Central Bank of Iran officially announced on its website on March 2 that five military-associated banks and credit institutions, namely Ansar Bank, Bank Hekamat Iranian, Mehr Eqtesad Bank, Ghavamin Bank, and Kosar Credit Institution are to be merged into the state-owned Bank Sepah.
Bank Hekmat Iranian set the price of shares owned by natural entities at 1,000 rials each equivalent to their nominal price. The price for shares owned by legal entities is set at 788 rials equivalent to their nominal price. There is no time limit for purchasing the shares of the mentioned banks.
As for conditions for Mehr Eqtesad Bank, the shares owned by real entities are to be sold at nominal prices or prices quoted at the time its symbols were frozen, whichever is higher. The price of shares for legal entities is the same as the time when the symbols were frozen.
Kosar Credit Institution set the price of shares owned by natural entities at 1,000 apiece. The price for shares owned by legal entities is the same as the time the symbol ticker of the entity was frozen. There is no time limit for ordering the shares of this entity.
Ansar Bank shareholders can sell their shares at 2,086 rials each without any time limit for ordering.
As for Ghavamin Bank, each share owned by natural entities is priced at 1,000 rials and legal shareholders can offer their shares at the price quoted the time the symbols of the bank were frozen. There is no time limit for ordering the shares of this entity.
After selling their shares, the merged entities are scheduled to officially merge in Bank Sepah on May 19.
CBI chief Abdolnaser Hammati said last month that the symbol ticker of the five banks will re-open in the stock market in April.
Banking Reforms
The governor pointed that merging five banks and credit institutions owned by the armed forces with Bank Sepah is part of the regulator’s attempt to overhaul the banking sector.
The CEO of Securities and Exchange Organization Shapour Mohammadi said shareholders can offer their shares in the after-hours trading at maximum nominal price or at prices quoted at the time symbols were frozen, whichever is higher.
Mohammadi said it is up to shareholders to sell their shares to authorized entities for the time being or wait for judiciary auditors to assess the merged banks’ balance sheets and decide on shareholders’ rights.
“There is a special court of law to address the objections of beneficiaries”, he said.
The CBI announced via its website that the measure is the follow-up to earlier decisions by the Money and Credit Council - a major monetary decision making body - and the Supreme Council of Economic Coordination – a body comprising heads of three branches of government formed at the behest of Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to address major economic issues.
The regulator said comprehensive studies have been undertaken to ensure full protection of rights of clients, depositors, shareholders, employees and beneficiaries. The merger is in line with CBI plans to reform the struggling banking sector and promote efficiency.
