TEHRAN – The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced a 12-percent growth in Iran's deposits with foreign banks and financial institutions during the first quarter of 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.

According to the BIS’s latest report, Iran's deposits with foreign banks and financial institutions reached $19.773 billion at the end of March, IRNA reported.

The Islamic Republic’s deposits with foreign banks and financial institutions in Q1 2022 amounted to $17.469 billion.

As reported, of Iran's total deposits with foreign banks and financial institutions at the end of Q1 2023, $10.754 billion were with foreign banks and the rest with non-banking financial institutions.

Based on the BIS data, equal to $8.807 billion of the Islamic Republic’s foreign deposits in the mentioned period were in the form of Euros while the share of the dollar was only $474 million.

According to the BSI report, Iran's commitments to foreign banks and financial institutions at the end of March 2023 registered a 23-percent decline compared to Q1 2022, reaching $1.335 billion.

As reported, of Iran's total financial commitments at the end of the first quarter of 2023, $512 million were related to foreign banks, and the rest included Iran's commitments to non-banking financial institutions.

Iran's total transactions with foreign banks and financial institutions also reached $21.108 billion in the first three months of the current year, registering a nine percent increase compared to the previous year’s same period. The country’s exchanges with foreign banks and institutions were reported to be $19.392 billion in Q1 2022.

According to BIS, Iran's deposits with foreign banks and financial institutions at the end of 2022 exceeded $21 billion.

The Bank for International Settlements is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".

EF/MA