Page 35 - IRANRptAug20

Looking at loan amounts and destinations, the CBI said companies in services received an average $5,300 at the free market exchange rate, while the average for other sectors was $3,000.
8.1.3 ​Deposits
8.1.4 ​NPLs
Saving rates fall to 15%
Deposit rates on Iranian bank accounts were lowered to 15% with daily short-term interest rates fixed at 10% since last September in accordance with the plan set out by the CBI, ​Banker.ir reported.
During the past decade, interest rates have historically been above 20% with some credit institutions in Iran offering over 30% for savers. The average loan rate at its highest was 33% in 2009.
CBI gives Iran’s NPL rate as 10%
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) calculates that Iran’s overall bad debt now stands at 10% of the total debt market in the country, ​according to a late May ​Iranian Banker Journal​ report.
Around IRR1 trillion of bad debt existed in Iran; however other figures suggest the figure of non-performing loans is higher, with banks struggling to retrieve assets due to old-fashioned regulations which mean it takes a very long time to clear debts.
Iran’s overall NPL figure stood at 18%, according to prior CBI statistical releases. The reason behind the supposed improvement in NPL clearance is the Rouhani cabinet's move in February to approve the penalty waiver for loans amounting to IRR1bn.
8.1.5 ​Bank merger
Iran and Russia ‘slowly’ integrating banking systems
Iran and Russia have reiterated their intention to integrate their respective bank card payment systems, according to ILNA on July 14. The Shetab (interbank information transfer network) and Mir (Friend) card payment networks, two indigenous card payment systems developed to counter Western supremacy in the sector, were initially set​ ​to be connected in 2017​. ​However, years of delays and Iran’s banks not conforming to modern chip and pin standards have slowed down proceedings. In Iran’s case, the country is desperate to connect its card system to another state, as no foreign cards currently work with Iran.
The long-awaited move by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) would make Russia the first country to accept Iranian bank cards since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which saw US-based card companies such as Visa and MasterCard driven out of Iran.
The two sides are keen to conduct trade in national currencies, "though the plan is facing hurdles mostly due to fluctuations in forex rates [in Iran]," Behrooz Olfat, head of TPO's Europe and North America Department, said to Iranian media.
The programme has long been pushed by the Iranian side, while ​Russia has remained publicly sluggish​ ​on the programme. In 2019, Russia’s ambassador to Tehran, Levan Dzhagaryan, said Russia and Iran’s banking systems will be
35​ IRAN Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com