Leader Calls for Measures to Curb Rising Liquidity

EghtesadOnline: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called for active control over liquidity rise and banking woes.

News ID: ۷۴۵۸۱۴

07 August 2018

“The problem of the banking system must be addressed seriously. This is something that everyone is saying,” he had said in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and other high-level officials in mid-July, Khamenei.ir reported on Monday.

“With regard to the banking system and the liquidity problem that now exists in the country, if we could have taken the country forward by redirecting this liquidity toward productive and constructive activities, this liquidity would have been a big blessing,” he said, adding that it is now “a big pain and a very dangerous thing”.

As he pointed out, first there is the issue of the total volume of liquidity itself–currently running in excess of 15 quadrillion rials ($350 billion)–and then there is the issue of its annual growth rate, according to Financial Tribune.

The Central Bank of Iran’s reports indicate that even as the yearly increase in liquidity has been curbed in recent months from last year’s growth of over 30% to about 20%, it is still very high.

The Leader called for the formation of a specialized workgroup that would come up with actionable solutions to handle banking and liquidity challenges.

“The workgroup would need to focus on the issues daily rather than convening on a weekly or monthly basis, and present a thorough report to the president after a few months,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei also directed the president to swiftly order new measures based on the information.

“Let us not allow this liquidity to flow toward foreign currencies, gold, housing and commodities,” he said, stressing that this would cause a major disruption as it has in recent months.

“Something like this is a necessity,” he concluded.