It is not clear how it is almost impossible for ordinary citizens to be granted a banking loan while middlemen have easy access to banking resources!
Many people have applied for health, education and housing loans or loans to simply help them overcome personal problems. These people can never forget how the bank clerk rejected their applications by reasoning that the bank does not have enough credit or that the bank does not have the required permit, the Persian daily Jaam-e Jam reported on Saturday. On many instances, the bank clerk has given loan applicants a mysterious smile, which in itself meant a very loud ’no’.
Interestingly enough, every day we come across advertisements, either in newspapers or on walls about financial firms that offer loans ranging from 20 million to 20 billion rials. These loans cover a diverse range. Investment, automobile, war disabled, house maintenance and retirement assistance are some good cases in point for which people can receive loans within 48 hours without having to visit banks or undergoing tedious banking procedures. Some of these loans are offered by financial institutions while the banks have stopped providing them.
After the banking profit rate was lowered recently many banks, including private ones, significantly decreased their housing loans.
How is that financial institutions, which have branches everywhere, claim that they can offer up to 70 percent of the price of a housing unit through the very banks that have officially stopped granting housing loans? Not to mention that some of these institutions even claim that they can receive their profits in the few last installments. This way the people would not doubt the integrity of these institutions. Why do these institutions have access to such extensive means and tools and are able to win public trust while nobody really knows if this entire affair is legal or not?
To satisfy our curiosity we contacted one of these institutions. We asked for a clerical loan. The secretary responded that 20 million rials could be offered within 24 hours without requiring a guarantor! She also said that the loan is handled through a few banks and that the firm charges three percent profit on every installment.
We called another of these institutions and asked for a loan that requires a house ownership document as collateral. The secretary said that they could offer up to 20 billion rials as long as a housing ownership document is used as collateral with no other requirements!
She explained that the firm would charge 10 percent of the loan amount as profit before the sum is provided. She further noted another mode of payment for the client paying 10 installments as profit after the actual loan installments are paid. How can these financial institutions operate with a permit while the banking system, through which they operate, practically does not offer substantial loans?
One expert opines that these institutions have insiders within the banking system as otherwise they could never have operated. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) should explain how this pseudo-legal mode of operation has become legitimate. The good omen amid all of this is that the government has recently started to more closely monitor the performance of banks.

Vice Chairman of Tehran Jewelers and Goldsmiths Union has cautioned the public about unnecessary purchase of gold coins and gold ornaments.
Talking to MNA, Mohammad Kashtiaray said that given the rising global gold prices, some people have embarked on buying gold coins in a bid to earn money. “This is highly risky and irrational,“ he warned.
He explained that the price spike of the yellow metal is linked to rises in oil prices and has nothing to do with domestic issues.
The recent hike in domestic market is due to the increase in global gold prices, Kashtiaray explained.
Each gram of 18-carat gold traded 184,000 rials in Tehran market on Saturday, he said, adding that each gold coin (old design) was sold at 2.01 million rials. The figures show an increase compared to last Friday’s 1.91 million rials.
Given the rising oil price which is predicted to touch $100 per barrel, it is likely that gold coin prices would continue to increase, Kashtiaray forecast.
Price of gold rose to its highest level since January 1980 after the dollar fell against the euro and oil rallied to a record $96 on late Friday. Gold for current delivery reached $793.65 per ounce Saturday.
Gold is favored as hedge against inflation when prices of raw materials are rising. In much of Asia, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, gold is the best possible protection against upheaval, both political and economic. The majority of the jewelry purchased in the Middle East and Asia is used as a means of saving in addition to its function as an adornment.

Trade between Iran and the European Union exceeded 10.8 billion euros in the first half of 2007. Although the figures show a nine-percent decrease compared to 11.18 billion euros recorded in the same period last year, transactions between Iran and 27 European countries are significant.
Fars news agency quoted Eurostat as reporting that overall trade declined due to decrease in exports from Europe.
The EU exports fell due to US pressure on European banks not to issue letter of credits for European companies exporting goods to Iran.
However, the good part of transactions between Tehran and Europe is that imports from Iran to the continent grew by 1.7 percent compared to the figure for last year.
Europe imported some 5.51 billion euro worth of goods from Iran during the period. The figure was 5.42 billion euros in the first half of 2006.
The figures indicate Iran Trade Promotion Organization has acted correctly to increase Iran exports, particularly non-oil goods.
In line with this, the organization has drawn up the non-oil export strategic plan which is being discussed by the cabinet. In recent years, giant steps have been taken such as lowering import figures from four dollars to $2.5 for each dollar of non-oil export earnings. Some fifty percent of the export targets set in the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010) have been achieved in the past two years.
The formulation of the plan was announced in a ceremony to mark National Export Day.
The plan actually reflects the experience of those who have played a significant role in the export sector and this strategic plan has to take into account their views.
The strategy gives importance to building trust and confidence among exporters impelling them to strive to increase export and achieve trade balance.
Undoubtedly, the plan would suggest that the government should always throw its weight behind exporters; governments should protect export and exporters and provide diplomatic and macroeconomic support so that there would be no need for direct supervision of the government. This can be realized only by formulating a detailed plan for gradually decreasing state role in export. The sooner the executive branch entrusts export to the private sector, the better. The need for this rush is due to the fast growing technology in this field.
Mass and large-scale production as well as immediate need to meet market demands call for rapidly removing the impediments to export and increasing export transactions.
According to a survey conducted by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), the unprecedented growing supply in recent years has been due to specialization of production lines and the highly competitive market.
In addition, the state-of-the-art technology, particularly in the transport sector, has accelerated transfer of goods.
The UNCTAD study shows that supply rate in Asian continent has grown faster than the average global level. This indicates that the continent faces a serious economic competition bringing about tough conditions for Iranian exporters.
According to the UNCTAD study, global export figure in 2006 was $11,983 billion which can be broken down to $7,000 billion, $4.4 billion, and $488 billion export revenues for developed, developing, and least developed countries, respectively.
Findings of this study further show that Iran’s share in import was $40.5 billion out of the global level of $203 billion. The figures are indicative of Iran’s efficient economic transaction with the world economy and organizing the import sector. The Iranian government, however, should take advantage of this by exploiting its full economic potentials.
The UNCTAD figures show that the import sector had grown faster than the export sector in West Asia. This indicates that state-run export institutions and their heads should take their job more seriously. In fact, Iranian export sector needs to be supported in this area. It is up to the governments to facilitate international transactions and prepare grounds for exporters to win the markets. Iranian exporters need support to reduce costs and ensure their success.

Mahan Air will resume flights to Manchester and DŸsseldorf in the near future, Director of Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran said on Saturday.
According to IRIB, Hossein Khanlari stated that Mahan flights would resume once the problems are overcome.
British authorities earlier informed Mahan Air that it can no longer operate flights in Britain because of what they call ’concerns about its safety record’.
Mahan Air, whose network includes 21 destinations in 10 countries, is based in Tehran.
Also, in a reaction to the move by British authorities, managing director of Mahan Air described ’flight safety concerns’ as a mere ’claim’.
Hamid Arabnejad said that the airliner is following up the issue to resume operation.
He underlined, “Nothing more important than flight safety for the airliner.“
In 2006, British investigators announced a probe into an incident in which a Mahan Air jet flying to Birmingham, central England, apparently descended at a dangerously low level and was forced to abort its landing.
Presently a total of 950 air travel offices are operating nationwide, of which some 440 are in Tehran.
Meanwhile, all international flights were diverted from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport to the Imam Khomeini International Airport as of 12 midnight Saturday.
Director general of IKIA further said that the people can see off or receive their relatives embarking on foreign trips at IKIA.
Gholamhussein Baqerian explained that the taxi fleet stationed in IKIA, would render services to passengers, adding all recreational facilities and services are available.
He elaborated that foreign flights by domestic airlines have been redirected to IKIA since Oct. 28, adding Tehran-Syria flights would be diverted as of Nov. 11.
Only flights from Tehran to Medina and Jeddah and vise versa would not be included in the project in near future, he pointed out.
The official urged people to take note of IKIA announcements in the media and the airport’s telephone answering machines.
Highlighting that the measure would increase the IKIA involvement over twice than before, he said that IKIA has the capacity to handle 6.5 million passengers per year.
He hoped that with the redirection of new flights, the airport’s capacity would reach to 4.5 million passengers per year.
Baqerian continued that some 800 billion rials have been allocated for completing the first phase of IKIA.
He underlined that about 3.2 trillion rials will be needed to promote the airport to a worldwide entity and upgrade its standards.
Once the mentioned credit is supplied the cargo sector of the airport would be launched.
The newly-built Imam Khomeini International Airport, the largest in Iran, is located 30 kilometers south of Tehran in an area of 13,500 hectares.

Early crude oil production from Azadegan oilfield will begin in late December thanks to the efforts of local experts and the use of domestic technology, managing director of National Iranian South Oilfields Company (NISOC) declared.
Noting that the project has witnessed a 70 percent physical progress, Seifollah Jashnsaz hoped that about 25,000 barrels of crude oil would be produced daily from the field, IRIB reported.
He explained that following the refusal of Japanese Inpex Company to cooperate in the Azadegan project, the first phase of the project was ceded to NISOC to produce 25,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The official elaborated that the company was given six months to complete repairing six wells, installing two oil collecting systems, constructing a pipeline extending 100 kilometers and linking six pipelines from the wells to the oil collecting systems.
He recalled that one month ago the caretaker of the Oil Ministry, Gholamhussein Nozari had ordered an increase in crude oil production by 50,000 barrels per day from Azadegan oilfield.
Jashnsaz said that once the financial resources are supplied, the projects would not require any foreign assistance.
He continued that Japanese regretted giving up the petrochemical project of Imam Khomeini Port in southwestern Khuzestan province. They will again be sorry for their refusal to cooperate in Azadegan project, he added.
He thanked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nozari for using the capabilities and knowledge of domestic experts in the Azadegan project.
Inpex signed a contract for Azadegan interests in February 2004.
However due to delays in work, reduction of Inpex’s stakes in Azadegan from 90 percent to 10 percent and paying attention to the capabilities of domestic experts, the contract was signed with local firms.
Azadegan is Iran’s biggest oilfield with an estimated 31 billion barrels of crude oil in an area of 1,400 square kilometers.