Iran will begin accepting applications next week for the establishment of private banks with start-up capital of at least $25m, The Gulf News reported Tuesday.
The central bank was quoted by the daily as saying that "but private banking will still be off-limits to foreigners as applications will only be accepted by Iranian nationals or legal entities."
Parliament, according to the daily, took the landmark decision last year to end the state monopoly in the banking sector as part of President Mohammad Khatami's five-year plan to liberalize the largely state-dominated economy.
Iran nationalized all private banks after the 1979 Islamic revolution in a bid to stop the nation's wealth from flowing out of the country.
Iran has already allowed private banking in its free-trade zones and non-banking credit institutions across the country -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
