Central Bank of Iran Reports Growth in Deposits, Loans

EghtesadOnline: A report on loans made by and deposits with banks and credit institutions says total deposits stood at 20,825 trillion rials ($173 billion) at the end of the first calendar month to April 20.

News ID: ۷۴۷۹۵۰

23 July 2019

The figure indicates 24.2% growth compared to the same period last year (March 21- April 20, 2018) and 0.7% increase compared to the end of previous fiscal year (March 20, 2019) the official website of the Central bank of Iran reported.

Deposits include both in rial and foreign currencies.

As usual, Tehran Province topped the list with 11,417 trillion rials ($95.1 billion), accounting for 54% of the total deposits. Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi provinces follow with  1,078 trillion rials ($8.9 billion) and 957 trillion rials ($7.9 billion) respectively until April 20, Financial Tribune reported.

CBI data also covered outstanding loans made by banks and credit institutions. Total outstanding loans reached 15,107 trillion rials ($125 billion) during the reviewed month, indicating an 18% annual growth and 17% rise compared to the end of previous year.

Tehran Province again held the lion’s share of outstanding loans with 9,808 trillion rials ($81.7 billion), followed by Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi each with 553.4 trillion rials ($4.6 billion) and 457.8 trillion rials ($3.58 billion) respectively.

Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province was at the bottom of the list with total outstanding loans at 51.8 trillion rials ($400 million).

Head offices of most businesses in Iran are in Tehran and this demands hectic banking activities, including the high demand for loans, credits and other financial facilities in the sprawling metropolis.

Loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) stood at 80.8% during the month, which indicates a 4.3% decline year-on-year and a subtle 0.5% decrease compared to the end of the last calendar year.

The ratio in Tehran and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad provinces stood at 94.7% and 106.4, respectively.

LDR is used to assess a bank's liquidity by comparing the bank's total loans to its total deposits for a specific period and is expressed as a percentage. If the ratio is too high, the bank may not have enough liquidity to cover any unforeseen fund requirements.

Conversely, if the ratio is too low, the bank may not be earning as much as it should be.