NDFI Lending Exceeds $8b

EghtesadOnline: According to the National Development Fund of Iran data, the sovereign wealth fund gave 27 trillion rials ($267 million) to agent banks for loans in the first quarter of current fiscal to June.

News ID: ۷۴۶۳۶۰

22 December 2018

The money is allocated as per two legal provisions, namely the amendment to Article 52 of the Government's Financial Regulations Law and the law on Supporting Sustainable Development and Employment in Rural Areas using NDFI resources law.

According to NDFI, 12 trillion rials ($118.8 million) was deposited with agent banks to finance various sectors and help complete development projects.

Bank Keshavarzi Iran - the main agriculture bank - took the lion’s share of NDFI lending with 6.5 trillion rials ($64.3 million) via depository contracts. The money was to be allocated to water and agriculture sector, Financial Tribune reported.

Bank Tose Ta’von held 2 trillion rials ($19.8 million) in deposits from NDFI. The sum deposited with this bank includes a 900 billion rial ($8.9 million) allocation to mining and industry, 400 billion rials ($3.9 million) to water and agriculture, and 700 billion rials ($6.9 million) for transformational and supplementary industries.

Tourism Bank received 1 trillion rials ($9.9 million), Post Bank 500 billion rial ($4.9 million), Bank Refah Kargaran 800 billion rials ($7.9 million), and Bank Saderart Iran 1.2 trillion rials ($11.8 million) in deposit from NDFI for supporting the mining and industrial sector.

According to the NDFI website, from the total 12 trillion rials deposited with 6 agent banks, 3 trillion rials ($29.7 million) and  3.9 trillion rials ($38.6 million)  are  to be allocated as working capital and complete development projects in the water and agriculture sector, respectively. This is almost 58% of the total allocations.

Also, 1.6 trillion rials ($15.6 million) and 2.8 trillion rials ($27.7 million) was deposited to help finance working capital and complete mining and industrial projects, respectively.

The resources for working capital of transformational and supplementary sector amounted to 700 billion rials ($6.9 million) accounting for 6% of all deposits.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal to June, a total of 15 trillion rials ($148.5 million) was deposited with four agent banks for sustainable development and employment in rural areas.

Law stipulates that the funds are to be provided for non-government projects as well as for working capital of production units in rural areas and cities with a population below 10,000.

The funds for each bank separately include 7.5 trillion rials ($74 million) for Bank Keshavarzi and Post Bank, Bank Tose Ta’von, and Omid Entrepreneurship Fund – getting 2.5 trillion rials ($24.7 million).

$8.5 Billion in Forex Loans

NDFI lent $8.55 billion in foreign currency to banks by the end of third Iranian month ending June 21.

According to the NFFI reports, the sums were paid to 12 agent banks to help fund refineries, petrochemical industries, steel sector, power plants and other national project such as controlling water projects near the border, completing development plans envisioned in the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan and water projects in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

The agent banks party to depository contracts with NDFI include Bank Keshavarzi and Bank Meli each with $1 billion deposit, Bank Mellat $2 billion, Bank Tejarat $1.5 billion, Bank Saman $500 million, Post Bank $200 million, Bank Tose Ta’von $400 million, Bank Hekmat Iranian $100 million, Bank Refah Kargaran $650 million, Bank Kar Afarin $400 million, Middle East Bank $300 million, and Bank Tose’ Saderat $500 million.