TEHRAN- Iranian banking system has paid 6.26 quadrillion rials (about $149 billion) in loans to domestic economic sectors since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2019), the governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said on Tuesday.

According to Abdolnasser Hemmati, in the mentioned time span, over 280 trillion rials (nearly $6.6 billion) worth of bank loans have been offered to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 100 trillion rials (about $2.38 billion) has also been offered to create new sustainable job opportunities, IRIB reported.

Of the mentioned figure, 83 trillion rials (nearly $1.97 billion) was offered to more than 870 knowledge-based companies across the country and also 240 trillion rials (about $5.7 billion) was also given to newly-married couples.

Back in November 2019, CBI announced that the country’s banks offered 3.821 quadrillion rials (about $90.97 billion) to domestic economic sectors in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22, 2019), registering a 26-percent rise from the previous year’s same period.

According to the data provided by CBI, in the said period, working capital loans paid to different economic sectors were above 2.11 quadrillion rials (about $50.26 billion) accounting for 55.3 percent of the total provided facilities.

Also in early October 2019, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade announced that in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22, 2019), some 264.943 trillion rials (nearly $6.3 billion) worth of bank loans were offered to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to complete semi-finished projects with an over 60 percent physical progress.

Iranian banks offered 7.737 quadrillion rials (about $184.2 billion) of facilities during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2019) register a 26-percent rise from its preceding year.

EF/MA