Total deposits grew 5.3% compared to end of the last fiscal year when overall value of deposits was 20,673 trillion rials ($180.55 billion), the Central Bank of Iran said in a report released on its website.

The report covers deposits both in rial and foreign currency.

Tehran Province topped the list of provinces with the highest deposits -- a total of 11,813.7 trillion rials ($103.17 billion). This accounted for 54.27% of the deposits, Financial Tribune reported.

Next was Isfahan Province with 1,134.22 trillion rials ($9.90 billion) and Khorasan Razavi Province with 1,001.44 trillion rials ($8.7 billion).

With 57.7 trillion rials ($503.9 million), Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province was at the bottom end of the list. 

Outstanding Loans 

The CBI report showed that outstanding loans increased in proportion to the rise in deposits in the month. Loans reached 15,657 trillion rials ($136.8 billion), indicating a 20.7%  hike compared to the same period last year when the total outstanding loans were reported at 12,974 trillion rials ($113.3 billion).

Compared to end of the last fiscal year, total outstanding loans rose 3.8%. 

As usual, Tehran topped the list of provinces with outstanding loans at 10,157 trillion rials ($88.7 billion), followed by Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi, each respectively with 571.6 trillion rials ($4.99 billion) and 4795.6 trillion rials ($4.18 billion).

Yet again at the bottom end was Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province with total outstanding loans reaching 53.1 trillion rials ($463.7 million).

One of the main reasons Tehran almost always is at the top is that the sprawling metropolis is home to head offices of most businesses in the country. This gives rise to a whole lot of financial and banking activities, including rising demand for loans, credit and other financial help. 

During the period, loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) was 80.1%, indicating 4% annual decline, and down 1.2% compared to the end of the last fiscal year.

The ratio in Tehran province was 94.8% and in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province 103.6%.

LDR is used to assess a bank's liquidity by comparing its total loans to total deposits for a specific period and is expressed in percentage terms.

If the ratio is too high, the bank may not have enough liquidity to cover unforeseen fund requirements. Conversely, if it is too low, the bank may not be earning as much as it should be.