Liquidity Crosses $350 Billion by March 2018

EghtesadOnline: The total volume of liquidity reached 15.3 quadrillion rials ($354.24 billion) by the end of the previous fiscal year on March 20, 2018, latest data released by the Central Bank of Iran show.

News ID: ۷۴۵۶۲۸

14 July 2018

According to the report published on the regulator’s website, the figure was indicative of a year-on-year growth of 22.1% as liquidity stood at 12.53 quadrillion rials ($290.11 billion) at the end of the year before.

Although this hike is high, it actually shows a decline in pace when compared with the past two years when liquidity had registered an annual rise of 23.2% and 30% respectively.

However, rampant liquidity growth still remains a big concern for Iran and one of the weak points of the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, something that his own officials have also admitted on multiple occasions, Financial Tribune reported.

On the other hand, CBI’s latest report came very belatedly as it is disclosing data pertaining to more than four months ago. The last time it published the previous version of this report on April 10, the regulator had announced liquidity for the penultimate month of the previous year (ending Feb. 19) to be 14.89 quadrillion rials ($344.75 billion).

Of the total volume of liquidity, the share of money and quasi-money stood at more than 1.94 quadrillion rials ($44.91 billion) and 13.35 quadrillion rials ($309.1 billion) by the end of the final month of last year, registering a respective hike of 19.4% and 22.5%.

Banking & Foreign Assets

The CBI report also notes that the total volume of its foreign assets was 4.07 quadrillion rials ($94.23 billion) at the end of last year, signaling an increase of 20.1% when compared with the year before. Its total assets, which also include government and bank payment arrears, exceeded 6.18 quadrillion rials ($143.08 billion).

The banking system, on the other hand, held more than 7.32 quadrillion rials ($169.48 billion) in foreign assets, some 2.58 quadrillion rials ($59.73 billion) in government debts and more than a staggering 10.91 quadrillion rials ($252.6 billion) in private sector debt. The aforementioned figures registered year-on-year increase of 25.9%, 17.6% and 19% respectively.

The total value of Iran’s banks and credit institutions’ assets was reported to be 35.41 quadrillion rials ($819.86 billion) by the end of the previous year, which figure was up 23.1% compared with the year before.

According to the CBI report, there was 562.9 trillion rials ($13.03 billion) worth of banknotes and coins by the end of last year, which was up 5.2% when compared with the close of the fiscal 2016-17.

Of this amount, the overwhelming volume of 442.7 trillion rials ($10.25 billion) was in the hands of the people, up by 12.6% on a year-on-year basis. Of the rest, 91.8 trillion rials ($2.12 billion) were held by banks, almost unchanged from last year, and only 28.4 trillion rials ($657.56 million) were in the possession of the central bank, which indicate a decline of 43.3%.