Iran: Bank Deposits Rise 30% in 1 Year

EghtesadOnline: Deposits with Iranian banks and credit institutions have been rising over the past year to reach 23,493.9 trillion rials ($181.4 billion as per current exchange rates) by the end of sixth calendar month to September 22, according to Central Bank of Iran.

News ID: ۷۴۹۳۲۰

30 December 2019

Bank deposits increased by 5,435.9 trillion rials ($41.9 billion) over the course of the year, indicating a 30.1% rise annually and up 13.6% compared to figures reported for the end of last fiscal year on March 19, 2019.

As usual deposits with banks in Tehran Province accounted for 54.48% of the total deposits, according to the report on the CBI website.

About 12,799.9 trillion rials ($98.8 billion) in deposits were held with banks in the capital during the period, according to Financial Tribune.

Isfahan Province came in second with more than 1,234.2 trillion rials ($9.53 billion) worth of deposits.

Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province was at the bottom end of the list with 61.8 trillion rials ($477.56 million).

Outstanding Loans

According to CBI, total outstanding loans rose from 13,637.9 trillion rials ($105 billion) at the end of sixth month of the previous year to 16,824.7 trillion rials ($129.5 billion) by the end of summer on Sept 22, showing 23.4% annual growth.

As usual, Tehran Province topped the list with the highest number of loan defaults, reaching 10,919.3 trillion rials ($84.31 billion).

Next on the list was Isfahan Province with 601.83 trillion rials ($4.64 billion). Khorasan Razavi Province was third with 517.48 trillion rials ($3.99 billion).

At the bottom end of the list was Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province with total outstanding loans reaching 58.5 trillion rials ($451.73 million).

According to the CBI, one of the main reasons for Tehran's top slot in both deposits and bad loans is that the sprawling metropolis is home to the head offices of most businesses across the country.

This gives rise to a whole lot of financial and banking requirements, including rising demand for loans, credit and other forms of lending.

Loan-to-Deposit Ratio

Compared with the end of last fiscal year, the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) fell 1.5% to reach 79.8%, indicating 4.5% decline on a year-on-year basis.

The ratio for Tehran province was 94% and for Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province 106.6%.

LDR is used to assess a bank's liquidity by comparing the total loans to total deposits for a specific period and is expressed in 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.