The Ayandeh Bank recently faced a halt in operations due to accumulated losses and debts reported to be about $5.2 billion and $2.9 billion (approximately €2.5 billion), informed IRNA agency.
Hamidreza Ghaniabadi, an official from the Iranian Central Bank, communicated to IRNA that the “uncollectible debts” led to the bankruptcy.
“Over 90% of Ayandeh Bank’s funds were allocated to entities associated with the bank itself or projects managed by it, which were never reimbursed,” Ghaniabadi explained.
Founded in 2012, Ayandeh Bank had supported luxurious projects such as the enormous Iran Mall, a commercial complex in Tehran featuring an ice skating rink and several cinemas.
The entity operated a network of 270 agencies nationwide, with 150 located in Tehran, which have been absorbed by the state-run Meli Bank.
“The transfer of Ayandeh Bank to Meli Bank has been completed,” stated public financial institution director Abolfazl Najarzadeh on state television today.
Meli Bank has assumed responsibility for the accounts of customers from the now-defunct Ayandeh effective today.
Besides Ayandeh Bank, five other institutions — Sarmayeh, Day, Sepah, Iran Zamin, and Melal — are also encountering financial difficulties, as per Tasnim agency.
The Iranian banking sector has been impacted by U.S. sanctions imposed since 2018 over Tehran’s nuclear program following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, originally signed by France, Germany, the U.K., Russia, and China.
In addition to U.S. sanctions, six UN resolutions were approved against Iran between 2006 and 2010, and reimposed at the end of September, prohibiting the country from uranium enrichment and ballistic activities.
These measures also establish an arms embargo and asset freezes, authorize inspections of Iranian aircraft and ships in international waters, and impose banking and financial limitations.
