Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: بانک تجارت, ''Bank Tejarat'', ''Mercantile Bank'' also "Commerce Bank") is an Iranian Bank.
History (1887 – 1995)
In 1887 a British bank named The East Modern Bank (Bank Jadid Sharq) established branches in some cities of Iran such as
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
,
Rasht
Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
, and
Bushehr
Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antio ...
. In 1888, on the basis of a 60-year concession awarded to Baron
Paul Reuter
Paul Julius Reuter (born Israel Beer Josaphat; 21 July 1816 – 25 February 1899), later ennobled as Freiherr von Reuter (Baron von Reuter), was a German-born British entrepreneur who was a pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting.Naser od-Din Shah, (
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
shah of Iran: 1848-96), the facilities of The East Modern Bank were assigned to Bank Shahanshahi.
The dealing center in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and the bank were recognized under the laws of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
was its main center. This bank established some branches in other cities of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and also in various other countries. The exclusive privileges of publishing
paper money
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes were originally issued ...
,
tax exemption
Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
, performing commercial-industrial affairs, profiting from all subterranean resources, etcetera was awarded to the mentioned bank. Concentration of the governmental accounts and the treasury funds in Bank Shahi and the said bank's interference in marital and civic affairs led to its absolute domination of the financial affairs of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Since Bank Shahi was a private institution, it never solved a problem for the
Iranian Government
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
. Bank Shahi supplied useful services in the field of industries of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and export of the agricultural products required for this country's industry. This function led to development of the economic power of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, and increasing the economic influence of this country in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Bank Shahi continued to be active under the same title until February 1949 when its 60-year concession expired, and thereafter renamed "British Bank in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
", it continued to be active until
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...
1952 without the former concession and rights. Gradually as a result of the anti-colonialism campaigns of the Iranian people and the statement of
Ayatollah Kashani
Sayyed Abol-Ghasem Mostafavi-Kashani ( fa, سید ابوالقاسم کاشانی ''Abu’l-Qāsem Kāšāni''; 19 November 1882 – 13 March 1962) was an Iranian politician and Shia Marja.
Early life
His father, Ayatollah Hajj Seyyed Mostafav ...
on September 20, 1951, the bank was dismissed from all the banking transactions such as gavel bills, opening current accounts, and any kinds of banking works. Finally, on Nov 07 1952 after Bank Shahi's 60-year concession expired, a bank named Bank Bazargani (which means Commerce Bank in Persian) with 100% investment in Iran bought the place of Bank Shahi for an amount of IRR 36’000’000 and a national institution took the place of a foreign institution. The capital of the bank was IRR 1’500’000’000 divided to 150’000 registered shares of IRR 10’000 all of which were paid. The said bank on March 20, 1978 had 102 branches in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, 140 branches in other cities of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, two branches outside the country (
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
), and a total of 3801 employees.
To execute the Banks Nationalization Act approved in 1979 and subsequently in execution of the bank's integration; integrating Bank Bazargani, five domestic commercial banks, and six previous multi-nationality banks which were active in international and domestic fields, Bank Tejarat (which means Mercantile or Commerce Bank in Persian) was established.:: Tejaratbank-Home :: Tejaratbank.ir. Retrieved on 2011-03-13.
Recent history
In 2009 the bank was partially
privatized
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, with the Iranian state remaining as a minority shareholder.
In January 2014, the
European General Court
The General Court, informally known as the European General Court (EGC), is a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It hears actions taken against the institutions of the European Union by individuals and member stat ...
in Luxembourg ruled to annul the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU) sanctions in place since 2012 against the bank on grounds of supporting the
Iranian nuclear program
The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a Nuclear reactor technology, research reactor, an ...
as there was inadequate evidence supporting the claim. Sanctions will remain in place giving time for the EU to appeal the decision, or to re-impose sanctions on different legal grounds. In April 2015 sanctions were re-imposed on new legal grounds. All sanctions were lifted after the Iran's deal with the six world powers on the nuclear program resulted in the
embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...
Banking and insurance in Iran
Following the Iranian Revolution, Iran's banking system was transformed to be run on an Islamic interest-free basis. As of 2010 there were seven large government-run commercial banks. As of March 2014, Iran's banking assets made up over a third o ...
*
List of Iranian companies
This is a list of notable companies based in Iran. For listing criteria, see methodology section.
Current companies
*holding company
Methodology
Under a plan calledTop Iranian Companies the 100 top publicly traded Iranian corporations are cho ...
*
Privatization in Iran
According to the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005–2010), the Privatization Organization of Iran affiliated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance is in charge of setting prices and ceding shares to the general public ...