Parsian Bank (, Bānk-e Pārsiān) is a major Iranian private bank, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. In addition to traditional banking services, Parsian also offers diversified services such as insurance and car rentals.
History
Parsian Bank was founded in July 2001,[1] and opened for business in 2002. It entered the Tehran Stock Exchange in 2004. Reuters news agency describes the bank as "Iran's largest non-state bank" in 2006, known for offering slightly higher interest rates on accounts than state-run banks, financing of as much as 80% of a property's value, so that financing was a real option for many new homebuyers, and its liberal dress code. This started to change in 2005, when Parsian's managing director, Abdollah Talebi, refused to give Mohammad Shariatmadari (head of the powerful Setade Ejraiye Farmane Emam foundation at the time), an unsecured $44 million loan (Shariatmadari had offered no collateral for the loan).
In early 2006 the bank faced severe financial difficulties due to a forced interest rate change imposed upon the banking sector by the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Until then, the bank's strategy had required providing long term fixed high interest accounts, however when interest rates were slashed the income providing loans that Parsian was receiving ended up at a lower rate than the rates it was paying out in the long term savings accounts, thus creating a cashflow problem.