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{{Short description|Iranian banking and financial services corporation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bank Melli Iran
| native_name =
| logo = BmiBank Melli Iran-hor.svg
| logo_size =
| image = Bank Melli Building - Ferdowsi Ave..jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = Historic head office building of Bank Melli Iran on [[Ferdowsi Street]], Tehran
| type = [[State-owned enterprise]]
| traded_as =
| founder =
| key_people = Abolfazl Najjarzadeh {{small|(CEO)}}
| industry = Banking, financial services
| products = [[Retail banking|Consumer banking]], [[Commercial bank|corporate banking]], [[Financial services|finance and insurance]], [[investment banking]], [[mortgage loan]]s, [[wealth management]], credit cards,
| area_served = Worldwide
| foundation = {{start date and age|1928|9|8|df=y}}
| ___location = [[Ferdowsi Street]], [[Tehran]], Iran
| revenue = US$10.510 billion <small>(2015)</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 100 Iranian Companies |url=http://imi100.imi.ir/Pages/RankingFirst100.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140406/http://imi100.imi.ir/Pages/RankingFirst100.aspx |archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>
| num_employees = 39,305<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 100 Iranian Companies |url=http://imi100.imi.ir/IMIDocs/gozaresh%20vije%20IMI%20correction2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309032529/http://imi100.imi.ir/IMIDocs/gozaresh%20vije%20IMI%20correction2.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2013}}</ref>
| homepage = {{URL|bmi.ir}}
}}
'''Bank Melli Iran''' ('''BMI'''; {{langx|fa|بانک ملی ایران|lit=National Bank of Iran|translit=Bānk-e Melli-ye Irān}}) is a leading [[commercial bank]] in [[Iran]], headquartered in [[Tehran]]. It was established in 1928 under the newly established rule of [[Reza Shah]], and served as the country's [[central bank]] until 1960, when the [[Central Bank of Iran]] was established for that purpose and Bank Melli Iran was repurposed as a merely commercial bank.
As of 2016, Bank Melli Iran was the [[List of companies of Iran|largest Iranian company]] in terms of annual income with a revenue of 364 657 billion [[Iranian rial|rials]] in 2016.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=۱۰۰ شرکت برتر ایران کدامند؟ +جدول | اقتصاد آنلاین |url=https://www.eghtesadonline.com/بخش-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-3/172518-%D8%B4%D8%B1%DA%A9%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%A9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84 |website=www.eghtesadonline.com}}</ref> It was the largest bank in the Islamic world and in the Middle East.<ref name=":0" /> By the end of 2016, BMI had net assets of $76.6 billion and a network of 3.328 banking branches; so it was known as the largest Iranian bank based on the amount of assets. The brand of BMI was recognized as one of the 100 top Iranian brands in 10th National Iranian Heroes Championship in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=افزار |first=رضا کیا، مدیریت عملیات و پشتیبانی نرم |title=تاریخچه |url=https://sadad.co.ir/fa/aboutus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614194715/https://sadad.co.ir/fa/aboutus |archive-date=14 June 2018 |access-date=2018-05-10 |website=sadad.co.ir |language=fa}}</ref> The National Bank has 3328 active branches inside, 14 active branches and 4 sub-stations abroad, and it has 180 booths.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 January 2015 |title=ٓبرندهای ارزشمند ایران معرفی شدند/ رویکردی متفاوت در با شکوه‌ترین جشن سالانه صنعت |url=http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/394761/Economy/industry |access-date=2018-05-10 |website=www.khabaronline.ir |language=fa}}</ref>
== History ==
[[File:BNP 1928.png|thumb|Bank Melli Iran in 1928, with its names indicated in Persian and French on the former building of the Tobacco Régie in Tehran]]
[[File:لوگوی بانک ملّی ایران.jpg|thumb|Logo of Bank Melli Iran before (right) and after (left) the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Before the Revolution, the logo depicted the [[Battle of Shahriar and Lion]]; afterwards, it showed the [[emblem of Iran]].]]
[[Image:5r-type1-obv-reza.jpg|thumb|First series of 5 [[Iranian rial|Rial]]s banknote of [[Reza Shah]] era]]
[[File:Iranian women participating in the national uprising by Tehran Mosavvar.jpg|thumb|Women demonstrating in front of the BMI building, 1952]]
[[File:Bank Melli Iran Sandogh Pasandaz.jpg|thumb|Head office building photographed in the 1960s]]
[[File:Commemorative gold medal issued in the Pahlavi era on the occasion of the Pahlavi Golden Jubilee.jpg|thumb|Commemorative gold medal issued in 1976/7 by the Bank Melli on the occasion of the [[Golden jubilee]] of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]]]]
[[File:یادبود نقره هفتاد و پنجمین سالگرد تأسیس بانک ملی.jpg|thumb|Silver commemorative coin of the 75th anniversary of Bank Melli's establishment, 2003]]
===Background===
The formation of a modern national bank that would keep foreign influence in check became a topic of debate in [[Qajar Iran]] during the last quarter of the 19th century, following similar debates in the [[Ottoman Empire]] following the establishment of the foreign-controlled [[Ottoman Imperial Bank]] in 1863. In 1879, a proposal along such lines was made to emperor [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|Naser al-Din Shah]] by Tehran business leader Haj Muhammad Hassan Amin al-Zarb.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 2012 |title=آشنایی با بانک ملی ایران |url=http://www.hamshahrionline.ir/details/173264 |access-date=2018-05-10 |website=www.hamshahrionline.ir}}</ref> During the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution]], the aspiration to financial independence became a major political issue,<ref>{{Cite web |title=نگاهی به بانک ملی در ۸۷ سالگی |url=http://naghdineh.com/fa/page/9616/ |access-date=2018-05-10 |website=پایگاه خبری نقدینه}}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> leading to the publication of a manifesto promoted by a group of prominent merchants in December 1906.<ref>{{Cite web |title=درباره بانک :: تاريخچه بانک ملی ايران |url=https://bmi.ir//Fa/bmihistory.aspx?smnuid=10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303110041/https://bmi.ir//Fa/bmihistory.aspx?smnuid=10 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |access-date=2018-05-10 |language=fa}}</ref>
On 23 November 1906, [[Abolqasem Naser ol-Molk]], the Minister of Finance of the time of [[Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar]], reported to the [[National Consultative Assembly]] about the country's financial crisis and suggested a loan from European countries to deal with it, but the deputies rejected that option and, on 9 December, agreed to establish a national bank instead. But the abrupt changes in the political environment and the [[Anglo-Russian Convention]] of August 1907 prevented that vision from becoming reality until after the [[1921 Persian coup d'état]] and the establishment of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |title=اخبار بانک ملی ایران |url=http://www.bminews.ir/page/8 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050808/http://www.bminews.ir/page/8 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |access-date=2018-05-10 |website=www.bminews.ir}}</ref> Soon after cementing his rule, [[Reza Shah]] started considering a revival of the national bank project, intended as a departure from Persia's previous dependency on foreign finance embodied by the [[Imperial Bank of Persia]].{{R|Spaces|p=398}}
===National bank of issue===
The bank was initially established as '''''Banque Nationale de Perse''''' ({{lit|'''National Bank of Persia'''}}) in 1928, based on a law approved by the [[National Consultative Assembly]] on {{date|1927-5-14}}. The bank's statute was approved by the National Consultative Assembly's Finance Committee on {{date|1928-7-14}}. The bank started operations on {{date|1928-9-8}},<ref name=BMIH>{{cite web |website=Bank Melli Iran Hamburg |url=https://www.bankmelli.de/en/history/ |access-date={{date|2025-6-27}} |title=Bank Melli Iran - Tradition and History}}</ref> originally located in the former building of the [[Tobacco Protest|Persian Tobacco ''Régie'']].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://khamseen-emamzadeh-yahya-varamin.hart.lsa.umich.edu/en_museum_cabinet.php |website=Emamzadeh Yahya Varamin |date={{date|2025-1-15}} |title=A Luster Cabinet in Tehran, ca. 1880s, and Its Global Dispersal |author=Keelan Overton}}</ref><ref name=Spaces>{{citation |title=The Spaces of Finance in Iran and Turkey at the beginning of the 20th Century: The Cases of Melli Bank, the Sepah Bank, Turkish Central Bank, and the Ziraat Bank |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357465921_The_Spaces_of_Finance_in_Iran_and_Turkey_at_the_beginning_of_the_20th_Century_The_Cases_of_Melli_Bank_the_Sepah_Bank_Turkish_Central_Bank_and_the_Ziraat_Bank |date=December 2021 |journal=The Journal of Iranian Studies |author=Farivash Ghanadi Maragheh & Hilal Tugba Ormecioglu}}</ref>{{rp|399}} Its initial capital was 20 million Rials, of which 8 million were paid. It soon opened two branches in addition to its head office, in Tehran's [[Grand Bazaar, Tehran|Grand Bazaar]] and in [[Bushehr]], the country's most important commercial port.
Due to the fact that there were no bank specialists in Iran at that time, the law allowed the recruitment of Swiss or German nationals for the administration of the bank. The first CEO of the National Bank, {{ill|Kurt Lindenblatt|de}}, and its vice-president, Otto Vogel, came to Iran together with other experts from [[Germany]]. The number of bank employees on the opening day, including Iranian and German, did not exceed 27.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
On {{date|1931-3-22}}, the National Consultative Assembly granted Bank Melli Iran a monopoly on banknote issuance for 10 years, automatically renewable for another ten years if not formally canceled in the meantime. The BMI's first banknotes were originally intended to be introduced on {{date|1931-6-20}}, but due to delays in issuance, they were eventually issued on {{date|1932-3-21}}, the day of [[Nowruz]]; they coexisted for several months with those of the Imperial Bank of Persia, which were officially withdrawn in September 1932.<ref name=Bonine>{{cite book |author=Michael E. Bonine |year=2016 |title=The Banknotes of the Imperial Bank of Persia |url=https://dokumen.pub/the-banknotes-of-the-imperial-bank-of-persia-an-analysis-of-a-complex-system-with-catalogue-0897223373-9780897223379.html |publisher=The American Numismatic Society |ISBN=9780897223379}}</ref>{{rp|5}} Also in 1932, the bank's long-term credit operations were spun off as the Iranian Agricultural and Industrial Bank ({{langx|fr|Banque Agricole et Industrielle de l'Iran}}), later known as [[Bank Keshavarzi Iran]].<ref name=BMIH/>
In 1936, Bank Melli Iran moved into a purpose-built modern head office on [[Ferdowsi Street]], designed by German architect H. Heinrich, whose construction had started in 1933.<ref>{{cite web |website=Chapar Gasht Parseh |url=https://chaparpersiantravel.com/melli-bank-museum/ |access-date={{date|2025-6-27}} |title=Melli Bank Museum}}</ref>
In 1938, the bank's mortgage credit operations were similarly spun off as the Mortgage Bank of Iran, or [[Bank Rahni Iran]].<ref name=BMIH/> In 1939, the saving fund of Bank Melli Iran was established under a law to encourage people to save money.
In the early 1940s, Bank Melli Iran open several regional branches that shared the same monumentalist style, all designed by architect [[Mohsen Foroughi]], in Tabriz (1940), the Tehran Basaar (1941),<ref>{{cite web |website=Contemporary Architecture of Iran |url=https://www.caoi.ir/en/projects/item/375-melli-bank-tehran-bazzar-branch.html |date={{date|2019-10-18}} |title=Melli Bank - Tehran Bazzar Branch}}</ref> [[Isfahan]] (1941), and Shiraz.{{R|Spaces|p=405}}
In 1942, the bank was renamed National Bank of Iran in line with the new [[Name of Iran|name of the country]].<ref name=BMIH/>
===Commercial bank===
In 1960, the creation of the [[Central Bank of Iran]] put an end to the role of Bank Melli Iran as a bank of issue. Bank Melli Iran went on as a commercial bank.
In 1965, it opened its first international branch in [[Hamburg]].<ref name=BMIH/> In 1967, it opened branches in [[London]], which in 2002 were reorganized as a fully owned subsidiary named Melli Bank plc.<ref>{{cite web |website=MelliBank |url=https://www.mellibank.com/AboutUs |access-date={{date|2025-6-27}} |title=About us}}</ref>
===Since the Islamic Revolution===
After the Islamic Revolution, changes to the banking system were implemented in order to conform with [[Sharia]] law in the realm of [[Islamic banking and finance]]. The new law was passed in 1984. There are more than 3328 active branches inside, 14 active branches and 4 subsidiaries abroad and 180 offices.
In 2002, BMI established a Russian subsidiary, [[Mir Business Bank]] in [[Moscow]]. In 2004, it partnered with [[Bank Saderat Iran]] to establish Arian Bank in [[Kabul]]. In 2006, it also established a branch in [[Hong Kong]].<ref name=BMIH/>
==Operations==
[[File:Bank Melli Sabze Meydan.JPG|thumb|Tehran Bazaar branch building, photographed in the mid-20th century]]
[[File:Bank Melli, Tabriz.jpg|thumb|Bank Melli Iran Building in [[Tabriz]]]]
[[File:Streets in shiraz (7).jpg|thumb|Bank Melli Iran Building in [[Shiraz]]]]
[[File:Bank Melli Iran, Kensington - geograph.org.uk - 2863227.jpg|thumb|[[Kensington Vestry Hall]], office of Bank Melli Iran in [[London]]]]
=== Staff ===
Serving condition table of BMI employees by gender:<ref>{{Cite web |title=درباره بانک :: تاریخچه بانک ملی ایران |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/bmihistory.aspx?smnuid=10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303110041/https://bmi.ir//Fa/bmihistory.aspx?smnuid=10 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|'''status'''
|'''female'''
|'''male'''
|'''total'''
|-
|Employed
|3,263
|36,042
|39,305
|-
|Employment status, 105 is disabled
|0
|460
|460
|-
|Martyr (employed: 9, retired: 50)
|2
|57
|59
|-
|retired prematurely
|616
|3,402
|4,018
|-
|Other retirees
|1,618
|14,505
|16,123
|-
|Dead (salaried: 7536)
|67
|5,146
|5,213
|-
|'''total'''
|'''5,566'''
|'''59,612'''
|'''65,178'''
|}
=== Subsidiaries ===
==== Sadad data company ====
In 1999, Sadad Data Company was registered at Companies Registration Office and Non-commercial Enterprises.
==== National Development Group ====
The National Development Group is an investment company, which is listed on the [[Tehran Stock Exchange]].
===Islamic banking===
All banks in Iran must follow the banking principles and practices described in the [[Islamic Banking]] ([[Sharia]]) law of Iran passed in 1983 by the Islamic [[Majlis of Iran]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran's interest-free banking law |url=http://www.cbi.ir/simplelist/1457.aspx |publisher=Central Bank of Iran |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-date=3 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203022325/http://www.cbi.ir/simplelist/1457.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to this law, banks can only engage in [[interest]]-free Islamic transactions (interest is considered as [[usury]] or [[riba]] and is forbidden by [[Islam]] and its holy book the ''[[Quran]]''). The permitted commercial transactions involve exchange of goods and services in return for a share of the assumed profit. All such transactions are performed through Islamic contracts, such as ''mozarebe'', ''foroush aghsati'', ''joale'', ''salaf'', and ''gharzol-hassane''. Details of these contracts and related practices are contained in the Iranian Interest-Free banking law and its guidelines.
=== Social responsibilities ===
* Public Utilities Projects: At present, the bank has been involved in 39 public utilities project more than 114 billion Rials.<ref>{{Cite web |title=مشاركت 114 ميليارد ريالي بانك ملي ايران در 39 طرح عام المنفعه |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/news/11687/مشارکت-114-میلیارد-ریالی-بانک-ملی-ایران-در-39-طرح-عام-المنفعه |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Children Support.<ref>{{Cite web |title=بانک ملی ایران |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/pages/887/حمایت-از-کودکان |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Support for cultural and scientific projects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=بانک ملی ایران |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/pages/886/%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226105438/http://www.bmi.ir/fa/pages/886/%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Support for sports plans for releasing Diya prisoners .<ref>{{Cite web |title=بانک ملی ایران |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/pages/885/حمایت-از-طرح-های-ورزشی |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* School building.<ref>{{Cite web |title=بانک ملی ایران |url=https://bmi.ir//fa/pages/883/مدرسه-سازی-بانک-ملی-ایران |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
===Financials===
{{As of|2008|alt=As of}} 16 June 2008 (US$1 is approximately 133,130 [[Iranian rial]] (Rls)):<ref>{{Cite web |title=BMI financial statements as of March 20, 2006 |url=http://www.bmi.ir/Fa/uploadedFiles/FinanceReportFiles/0833204de9ae491.gif |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210131619/http://www.bmi.ir/Fa/uploadedFiles/FinanceReportFiles/0833204de9ae491.gif |archive-date=10 February 2012 |access-date=27 January 2008 |publisher=Bank Melli Iran}}</ref>
*Total assets = Rls 360,517 billion
*[[Market capitalization|Capitalization]] = Rls 36,487 billion
*Net income after tax = Rls 772 billion
*Total loans = Rls 163,595 billion
*Number of branches = 3,300
*Number of employees = 43,000
*Bank Melli Iran (BMI) has offered close to 30 percent of all credits to economic, production, industrial and services sectors.<ref name="iran-daily.com">{{Cite web |title=Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 12/10/08 |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3291/html/economy.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081213151312/http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3291/html/economy.htm |archive-date=13 December 2008 |access-date=2016-02-19}}</ref>
*[[Online banking]] services offered by Bank Melli have registered a 370-percent growth in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 12/14/08 |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3294/html/economy.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129231528/http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3294/html/economy.htm |archive-date=29 January 2009 |access-date=2008-12-14}}</ref>
[[Mohammad Reza Hosseinzadeh]], director of BMI, announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran owes over 220,000 billion Rials to BMI.<ref>{{Cite news |title=بدهی 220 هزار میلیاردریالی دولت به بانک ملی/فعالیت شعب خارجی از سر گرفته شد/انعقاد 20 قرارداد مهم با بانک‌های خارجی – اخبار تسنیم – Tasnim |language=fa |work=خبرگزاری تسنیم – Tasnim |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1395/06/25/1187549/%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%87%DB%8C-220-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF |access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> In 2009, the announcement of Mahmoud Reza Khavari's talks with ISNA news agency was published on the debt of 50 trillion Rials of Iranian government to the bank and the government's inability to repay the debt. But then, the news of "the government's inability to pay the debt" was denied by Khavari<ref>{{Cite web |last=PoyaDomain.com |title=پویا دامین {{!}} برگه پیدا نشد. |url=http://www.mardomsalari.com/Template1/Article.aspx?AID=10660 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105215301/http://mardomsalari.com/Template1/Article.aspx?AID=10660 |archive-date=5 January 2016 |access-date=2018-05-14 |language=fa}}</ref>
==Offices and buildings==
Bank Melli Iran has 18 international branches and services in 11 countries:
*{{flagicon|Afghanistan}} [[Afghanistan]] ([[Kabul]])
*{{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Azerbaijan]] ([[Baku]])
*{{flagicon|Bahrain}} [[Bahrain]] ([[Manama]])
*{{flagicon|France}} France (Paris)
*{{flagicon|Germany}} Germany ([[Hamburg]])
*{{flagicon|HK}} Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
*{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Iraq]] ([[Baghdad]] & [[Basra]])
*{{flagicon|Oman}} [[Oman]] ([[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]])
*{{flagicon|Russia}} Russia (Moscow)
*{{flagicon|UAE}} [[United Arab Emirates]] ([[Abu Dhabi]] – ''4 branches'', [[Dubai]] – ''4 branches'' and [[Sharjah (city)|Sharjah]])
*{{flagicon|UK}} United Kingdom (London)
==Controversies==
===Civil lawsuit===
Following the [[Ben Yehuda Street Bombing#1997 bombing|September 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem]], five American students who had been wounded were awarded $251 million in compensatory and punitive damages against the government of Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps by Judge [[Ricardo M. Urbina]], under the Flatow Amendment of the [[Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act]], in accordance with Section 201a of the [[Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002]], which states that "in every case in which a person has obtained a judgment against a terrorist party on a claim based upon an act of terrorism ... the blocked assets of that terrorist party ... shall be subject to execution". Since most Iranian assets in the United States had been withdrawn after the embassy hostage crisis, the only substantial monetary asset left was approximately $150,000 in the Bank Melli's account in the [[Bank of New York]]. Before turning over the funds to the five students, however, the Bank of New York sued for a legal decision regarding its responsibilities in the case. The United States Department of Justice, speaking as [[amicus curiae]] in support of Bank Melli, advised that the bank had no responsibility for turning the funds over to the students; in March 2006, Judge Denise Cole ruled against them, and was upheld by the Second Circuit Court in April 2007. Bank Melli then withdrew the funds from Bank of New York.<ref name="sun">''[http://www.nysun.com/article/66227 U.S. Helps Iranian Bank Withdraw, Then Seeks To Freeze Funds]'', Josh Gerstein, The ''[[New York Sun]]'', 9 November 2007</ref>
On 5 March 2018, Bank Melli lost an appeal "related to credit card use in Iran" concerning "roughly $17.6 million that Visa Inc and Franklin Resources Inc" were holding for Bank Melli.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 March 2018 |title=U.S. top court turns away dispute involving Iran's Bank Melli |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-iran/u-s-top-court-turns-away-dispute-involving-irans-bank-melli-idUSKBN1GH2ST |access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref>
===United States sanctions===
On 25 October 2007, the United States imposed unilateral [[sanctions against Iran]]. These sanctions include new measures to reduce Iran's ability to conduct financial transactions between the state-owned banks of Iran and United States citizens or private organisations.<ref name="Sanctions">[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jmvAtmi8jIooOgKDjfJ06cxUdalA US slaps sanctions on leading Iranian state-owned banks] ''[[Agence France-Presse]]'' (25 October 2007).</ref> Bank Melli was included in these sanctions, on the grounds that, besides its other customers, Bank Melli provides financial services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.<ref name="Sanctions" /> A fact sheet released by the [[US Treasury Department]] also asserts that between 2002 and 2006 Bank Melli sent at least $100 million to [[Hamas]], [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]], [[Hezbollah]] and other groups, via the [[Quds Force]], a branch of the [[Iranian Revolutionary Guard]].<ref name="sun" />
In a statement published on its website, BMI refuted the US allegations and denied that it has ever been involved in any "deceptive banking practices".<ref>[http://www.bmi.ir/Fa/DynamicPage.aspx?id=20 BMI's announcement on US sanctions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180739/http://www.bmi.ir/Fa/DynamicPage.aspx?id=20 |date=3 March 2016 }} ''Bank Melli Iran''.</ref>
===European Union sanctions===
On 16 June 2008, the [[European Union]] imposed further unilateral [[sanctions against Iran]]. These sanctions include the [[European Union]] freezing the assets of Bank Melli, in response to Tehran's refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061600313.html?hpid=topnews] ''[[BBC]]'' (16 June 2008).</ref>
After the lifting of sanctions, BMI was the first Iranian bank to be reconnected to Swift.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 May 2017 |title=Bank Melli Iran Revamping European Branches |url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-business-and-markets/65356/bank-melli-iran-revamping-european-branches |website=Financial Tribune}}</ref>
==Related entities==
===Publishing company===
After assignment of right to publish banknotes to BMI, a limited organization was created to publish the date of issue on banknotes. This organization evolved along with development of BMI; it was known as "BMI Printing House". Printing company of BMI received the publication license from Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in order to allow publication of book and magazine; so it renamed "BMI Printing and Publishing Company".
=== Hospital ===
The Hospital of BMI was established to provide health care and to meet the medical needs of its employees in 1938. Following this, the current building of the Bank Hospital was built in 1973.
=== Bank Melli Iran Museum ===
[[File:Musée de la Bank Melli Iran, Téhéran (1).jpg|thumb|Interior of the museum, photographed in 2024]]
The Bank Melli Iran Museum is located in {{ill|Bank Melli Iran building, Tehran{{!}}BMI's historic head office building|fa|ساختمان صندوق بانک ملی ایران}} on [[Ferdowsi Street]] in the center of Tehran. The building was registered in the category of national works of Iran on 20 December 2000, under registration number 2930.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
The museum opened with the presence of first vice president [[Eshaq Jahangiri]] on {{date|2017-7-21}}. Its collection includes ancient objects from the Achaemenid, Sasanian and later eras, including coins, paintings, rugs and blankets.<ref>{{Cite news |title=افتتاح موزه بانک ملی ایران – سازمان میراث فرهنگی، صنایع دستی و گردشگری |language=fa-IR |work=سازمان میراث فرهنگی، صنایع دستی و گردشگری |url=http://www.ichto.ir/Home/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/ID/25917 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320043826/http://www.ichto.ir/Home/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/ID/25917 |archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref>
==Leadership==
* {{ill|Kurt Lindenblatt|de}}, September 1928 - September 1932
* Albert Schneider, September 1932 - April 1933
* [[Hossein Ala]], April 1933 - March 1934
* [[Reza Gholi Amir Khosrovi]], March 1934 - November 1939
* [[Mohamad Ali Farzin]], November 1939 - October 1941
* [[Hossein Ala]], October 1941 - December 1942
* [[Abul Hassan Ebtehaj]], December 1942 - July 1950
* [[Ebrahim Zand]], July 1950 - September 1951
* [[Ali Asghar Nasser]], September 1951 - July 1952
* [[Mohammad Nassiri]], July 1952 - August 1953
* [[Ali Asghar Nasser]], September 1953 - April 1957
* [[Ebrahim Kashani]], April 1957 - 1960<ref>{{Cite web |last=Īrān |first=Bānk-i Markazī-i |year=1961 |title=Annual Report and Balance Sheet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbI7AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
* [[Kazem Najafi Elmi]], December 1986 - 1989<ref>{{Cite web |title=directoryofirani1988 |url=https://ia600509.us.archive.org/21/items/directoryofirani1988wash/directoryofirani1988wash.pdf}}</ref>
(Source:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Īrān |first=Bānk-i Millī-i |date=27 September 1958 |title=A History of the First Thirty Years of Bank Melli Iran, 1928-1958 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_YVXAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Printed in Bank Melli Iran Press |via=Google Books}}</ref>)
==See also==
{{Portal bar|Banks|Iran}}
* [[Melli Bank, University of Tehran Branch]]
* [[Bank Markazi Iran]]
* [[Economy of Iran]]
* [[Islamic Banking]]
* [[Banking and insurance in Iran]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Bank Melli Iran}}
*[http://www.bmi.ir Bank Meli Web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308041750/https://bmi.ir/landing/bam |date=8 March 2018 }} (Persian)
*[http://www.bmi.ir/en/ Bank Melli Web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111220223/http://www.bmi.ir/en/ |date=11 January 2021 }} (English)
*[https://instagram.com/bankmelli1307?igshid=yojydgvwn47b Bank Melli] official page on Instagram
*[http://www.cbi.ir/simplelist/3088.aspx State owned banks of Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807092601/https://www.cbi.ir/simplelist/3088.aspx |date=7 August 2022 }}
*[http://www.thebanker.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/4436/The_start_of_an_economic_renaissance.html The Banker, "The start of an economic renaissance", 2006, available to registered users and subscribers]
*[https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN25377740 Reuters – Iran sanctions]
*[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkIiCEhXSP1vLZh0Z53eo8wvGLww AFP – Iran to shake up interest rates]
{{s-start}}
{{s-other|[[Bank of issue]] of [[Iran]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Imperial Bank of Persia|Bank Shahi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Bank Melli Iran|years=1929–1960}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Central Bank of Iran]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Banks of Iran}}
{{Central Bank of Iran}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Banks established in 1927]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in Iran]]
[[Category:Former central banks and banks of issue]]
[[Category:Iranian entities subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions]]
[[Category:Government-owned banks of Iran]]
[[Category:companies based in Tehran]]
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