CBI Governor: Food Coupon to Rise Up to 23 Percent as 75 Trillion Tomans in Bank Iran Zamin Assets Move to Central Bank With Judiciary Support

Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Thursday, August 20, 2026 (29 Mordad 1405), in a special televised interview carried by Boursenews, that the government is committed to raising the value of Iran's electronic food coupon (kalabarg) by 22 to 23 percent in line with market exchange rate changes, without relying on money printing, which fuels inflation, while alternative plans for a stable funding source are underway. He said recent developments in the foreign exchange payment system have secured an uninterrupted currency supply for essential goods, medicine and other basic needs in the coming months.

In the same interview, Hemmati said that with special support from the head of the judiciary, 75 trillion tomans in assets belonging to Bank Iran Zamin have been transferred to the central bank against the bank's 110 trillion toman overdraft, with the fate of the remaining 45 trillion tomans to be determined within the next two months. He called excess withdrawals and liquidity creation by non compliant banks the main driver of inflation in the country.

The central bank governor added that all banks are required to submit and implement corrective plans, and that otherwise the central bank will take direct control of their management or, if reform proves impossible, move to dissolve them. In another part of the interview, he said raising the bank profit rate requires structural reforms that remain unavailable because of imbalances in the banking network.