October 14, 2022
In just the first half of this Persian year, Iranian banks and credit institutions have been forced to make interest-free loans totaling an astounding 790 trillion rials ($2.6 billion at the exchange rate of 300,000 rials to the dollar) to encourage young people to marry and have more children.
Mostafa Qamari-Vafa, head of the Central Bank of Iran public relations department said September 18 that the money was lent to 1,242,000 people or 1.5 percent of the population in just six months.
“Banks gave 342,000 loans worth 130 trillion rials [$430 million] to promote childbirth,” he wrote in a note on his social media account. Lenders were obliged in mid-April to provide non-interest-bearing loans to new parents to encourage childbirth
First-time parents are granted 200 million rials ($670) for the birth of their first child, 400 million rials ($1,330) for the second child, 600 million rials for the third ($2,000) , 800 million rials ($2,700) for the fourth child and 1 billion rials ($3,300) for the fifth child and each additional child after that.
As for marriage loans, banks lent 620 trillion rials ($2 billion) to 450,000 couples that is, 900,000 people in the same period.
Marriage loans are interest-free and repayable in seven years. The government ordered the banks to double the marriage loans for this year. As per the current budget, each couple is eligible for a 1.2-billion-rial ($4,000) loan. To help encourage early marriage, lenders are required to lend 1.5 billion rials ($5,000) if the bride is below 23 years of age and the groom under 25.