TEHRAN – Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) have agreed to form a joint committee to coordinate policies and decisions in the money and capital markets, the CBI Office of Public Relations announced on Monday.

The decision was made during a meeting between the CBI Governor Ali Saleh-Abadi, the Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, and the SEO Head Majid Eshqi.

Speaking at the meeting, Saleh-Abadi said that the formation of a joint committee will help develop joint cooperation in money and capital markets and stabilize them while creating new capacities for growth because money and stock markets are not competitors but complementary.

He also pointed to the need to establish a financial stability council and said: "By establishing this council, coordination between various components of the financial market, especially the money and stock markets in the country can be improved; The current situation is a very good time to establish this council and to promote such cooperation.”

Stating that the capital market is a specialized market, Saleh-Abadi stressed that the capital market should continue its growth path away from politicization and in a predictable environment based on specialized approaches.

Further in the meeting, Khandouzi stated that having dialogue among economic policy-making institutions is very promising, saying: "This can lead to good results and, if it continues, will have a very clear meaning for traders and the market."

He also welcomed the establishment of a joint committee with the CBI and noted that the cooperation with the central bank in such joint committees, will help to clarify the key variables that traders will look at to make decisions in the market.

“If the Joint Committee meets regularly on a weekly basis, small issues can be resolved quickly and serve as a basis for dialogue, increased understanding and cooperation with other productive sectors of the economy, as well as other ministries,” Khandouzi stressed.

Eshqi for his turn underlined stability as the most important component in the capital market and said: "The most important factor that raises concerns in the capital market is instability, even though the macro variables of the capital market are desirable. Nevertheless, I hope that with the efforts made by the CBI, the common language between the two markets will improve.”

EF/MA

Photo: CBI governor Ali Saleh-Abadi (2nd R), Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi (3rd L), and SEO Head Majid Eshqi (2nd L)