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Iran declared one of its largest private banks bankrupt and transferred its assets to a state lender, official media reported Saturday, marking a rare financial collapse in the sanctions-hit country.
Founded in 2012, Ayandeh Bank operated a network of 270 branches nationwide, including 150 in the capital, Tehran.
The lender had been crippled by mounting debt, with accumulated losses totaling about $5.2 billion and debts of roughly $2.9 billion, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Police were deployed Saturday as long queues formed outside a former Ayandeh branch in Tehran, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist reported.
The state-owned Melli Bank has taken over Ayandeh’s assets following a Central Bank decision. Authorities assured depositors that their funds remain secure.
“The transfer from Ayandeh Bank to Melli Bank is now complete,” Melli director Abolfazl Najarzadeh said on state television.
Earlier this week, Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Ayandeh customers had “nothing to worry about.”
The bankruptcy comes as Iran faces renewed international sanctions. In September, the United Nations reinstated tough restrictions on Tehran after months of stalled diplomacy to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which collapsed following a series of attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in June by Israeli and U.S. forces.
The reimposed sanctions represent a “snapback” of measures frozen under the 2015 accord brokered by former U.S. President Barack Obama, which had eased economic pressure in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
The United States had already reinstated sweeping sanctions when then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term, intensifying Iran’s economic isolation and contributing to its ongoing financial instability.
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