TEHRAN - The total value of Iranian banks’ foreign assets by December 21, 2019, stood at 10.034 quadrillion rials (about $246.19 billion), registering a 17.3-percent rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.

According to the latest data published by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), 47.8 percent of the mentioned assets belong to the central bank, IRNA reported on Saturday.

The total value of the banking system’s foreign assets had stood at 8.81 quadrillion rials (about $209.76 billion) for the last year’s same time span, the data showed.

As reported, the figure for December 21 has registered a 12.8-percent rise in comparison to the 9.171 quadrillion rials (about $218.35 billion) recorded at the end of the last Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019).

Since the foreign branches of state-run banks are not considered in calculating the foreign assets, private banks and non-bank credit institutions account for the biggest share of the country’s banking system’s foreign assets.

Central Bank of Iran’s foreign assets also witnessed a 6.7-percent increase in the said period, reaching 4.94 quadrillion rials (nearly $117.61 billion) from last year’s 4.63 quadrillion rials (about $110.23 billion).

The previous CBI report, released in September 2019, had put the banking system’s foreign assets by June 21, 2019, at 9.245 quadrillion rials (about $220.11 billion), 13 percent more than the corresponding period of last year.

EF/MA