Banks in Iran Record Double Digit Growth in Deposits

EghtesadOnline: Total deposits with Iranian banks and credit institutions stood at 21,311.2 trillion rials ($190.27 billion) at the end of the second calendar month to May 21, according to a report by the Central Bank of Iran.

News ID: ۷۴۸۲۷۸

27 August 2019

Published on CBI’s website, the regular report indicates 26.6% growth compared to the same month last year.

Deposits are both in rial and foreign currency.

As usual Tehran Province topped the list with 11,632.1 trillion rials ($103.85 billion), or 54.6% of the total deposits. Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi provinces follow with 1,103.95 trillion rials ($9.8 billion) and 979.52 trillion rials ($8.74 billion) respectively up until mid-May, Financial Tribune reported.

CBI data also covered outstanding loans made by banks and credit institutions. Total outstanding loans reached 15,346.2 trillion rials ($137.01 billion) during the month, indicating 19.7% annual growth and 1.7% rise compared to the end of previous year.

Again Tehran held the lion’s share of outstanding loans at 9,969.9 trillion rials ($89.01 billion), followed by Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi each with 559.1 trillion rials ($4.99 billion) and 468 trillion rials ($4.17 billion) respectively.

Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province was at the bottom end of the list with total outstanding loans reaching 51.9 trillion rials ($463.4 million).

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

Loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) stood at 80.2% during the month, down 4.8% year-on-year and a subtle 1.1% decrease compared to the end of the last fiscal year.

The ratio in Tehran and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad provinces stood at 94.5% and 105.3, 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 unforeseen fund requirements.

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