Azerbaijan, Baku, June 11/Trend M. Moezzi
As some officials express their growing concerns about the health of Iran's banking system, the head of the country's Central Bank has responded saying that "there's nothing to worry about".
In an interview, Mahmoud Bahmani, who heads the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), added that with the CBI's oversight, many banks are in better shape that before and their status has changed noticeably, Fars news agency reports.
Mr.Bahmani's comments stand in contrast to recent statements by the head of Tehran's Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Mines (TCCIM), and the former head of Tehran's Stock Exchange that Iran's banks are in trouble.
In late May, Yahya Ale-Eshaq, the TCCIM's chairman, said Iranian banks' outstanding receivables, the money they're owed, has surpassed $44 billion (USD) while their loan to deposit ratio is 109 per cent
A recent news report said that 99 per cent of Iranian banks' debts to the CBI belong to government-owned banks dedicated to trade or special sectors (like mining and industry). From 2004 to 2011, government-owned banks' CBI debt has exploded 23-fold.
Another figure used to illustrate this is that in the winter of 2011, Iranian banks' debts to the CBI equalled 65 per cent of all credit facilities offered by the country's banks in 2005.