13:15GMT—9:15AM/EST
IRAN – BANKS – ECONOMY
Washington, 27 August (IranVNC)—The head of Iran’s Central Bank yesterday said that the Iranian government overestimated the amount of capital that state-run banks had to offer in services, such as loans and mortgages, by 120 trillion tomans [about 125 billion dollars].
Central Bank governor Tahmasb Mazaheri told members of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce that this “gross mistake by the government and economic experts” occurred during Ebrahim Sheibani’s term as bank governor.
Mazaheri took over as governor of the Central Bank in August 2007 after Sheibani resigned.
According to Mazaheri, while the actual amount that the banks had to offer customers was 20 trillion tomans [about $21bn], government estimates put the figure at 140 trillion tomans [about $146bn].
With this high estimate, the government based certain economic measures on the bank’s ability to offer 280 trillion tomans in services.
The report adds that some economic experts, including Mazaheri, say that this “gross mistake” is one of the reasons for the current weakened condition of Iran’s economy.
Earlier this month, Mazaheri announced that Iran is considering a plan to change the country’s monetary denominations to combat high inflation, which the Central Bank has put at 21.5 percent annually.
The Central Bank “is mandated to keep government accounts, grant loans and credits to state enterprises and agencies” as well as other functions, including lending facilities to banks, the bank’s website reports.
Source: Sarmayeh Newspaper, Central Bank of Iran website
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