The new permits were issued after the exchange offices met an ultimatum from the Central Bank to adapt their activities with a new directive on augmenting their capital volume. There are still some offices, however, which insist that the bar set on the minimum capital is too high, refusing to enlarge theirs.
Based on a 2013 order ratified by the Money and Credit Council, First Category exchange offices are required to increase their minimum capital to 5 billion tomans, while the limit for the ones labeled as Second Category is 20 billion.
The First Category is allowed only to carry out cash transactions of foreign currencies not in the electronic form, plus selling and purchasing gold and silver coins. The Second Category, however, enjoys a wider scope, by issuing foreign currency transference and having access to the SWIFT network.
The Central Bank as well as the Money and Credit Council argue that the current directive improves the financial transparency in exchange activities and deals, reducing the number of unreal and artificial demands in the market.
The increase in the authorized offices is rooted in an official order by Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri in May 2016, in which he called for a reconsideration of the basic directive on the “opening, activity and supervision of foreign exchange offices”.
The Deputy Chief of the Central Bank has also announced that a reordering of the exchange offices is in force and a revised official regulation is being drafted.
According to Akbar Kamijani, one reason which prompted the reconsideration is the fresh opportunities and expanded activities opened up to the exchange market following the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 Group of countries.
