Baku, Azerbaijan, July 19
Trend:
The number of domestic branches of Iranian banks has decreased in recent months, according to a report by the country’s Central Bank.
The number of branches reached 20,598 by the end of the last calendar month (ended June 21).
The figure indicates a fall by 0.6 percent compared to the beginning of the current fiscal year or March 21.
According to the latest report released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) on Tuesday, some 20,273 bank branches were in the country in March, which is 52 branches less, compared to December.
The number of branches of the state-run banks registered the highest fall among Iranian banks and stood at 8,681 by June 21, equal to 42.1 percent of the overall active bank branches across the country. The figure was 1 percent less compared to the beginning of the fiscal year.
In the meantime, the banks that were handed over to the private sector saw a decrease by 48 branches in three months as the number of their active branches reached 6,461 by the end of the last calendar month.
The privatized banks’ branches made 31.4 percent of the overall active bank branches in Iran by June 21.
Meanwhile the private banks, as well as the country’s credit institutions, witnessed a growth in the number of branches by seven in the mentioned period with 5456 branches in June (26.5 percent of overall active branches).
The number of foreign branches of the Iranian banks reached 48 in June. The number of bank branches in the country’s free trade zones amounted to 213.
The provinces of Tehran (4,049), Esfahan (1,431), Khorasan Razavi (1,318) accounted for the highest number of bank branches in the country.
