Central Bank of Iran implements second stage of reserve requirement rise, a further 0.75 point for a total of 1.5

Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday 5 August 2026 that the reserve requirement ratio for all banks and credit institutions was raised by a further 0.75 percentage point in the second stage of a decision by Iran's Monetary and Foreign Exchange Policy Council. The step was taken under item one of the resolutions of the council's 61st meeting and follows circular number 21563/05 dated 3 May 2026.

The Central Bank had already raised the same ratio by 0.75 percentage point in the first stage, bringing the cumulative increase to 1.5 percentage points. The reserve requirement is the share of a bank's resources that must be held at the central bank and cannot be used directly for lending.

The Central Bank stressed that it will at the same time pursue targeted support for production and the financing of priority sectors. Banking analysts cited in the report said the policy's final effect depends on the reserve position of the banking network, the scale of banks' overdrafts, and coordination with other monetary tools.