Bank Sepah (, ''Bānke Sepah'') is an Iranian bank. It was established in 1925 as the first Iranian bank. Its first branch, in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, opened that year. The bank also has branches in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as well as a subsidiary, Bank Sepah International plc, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Sepah Bank has recently merged four other Iranian banks and one credit institution: Ansar Bank, Mehr Eghtesad Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Ghavamin Bank and Kosar Credit Institution. The Omid Bank app is product of Bank Sepah.

History

Bank Sepah was officially founded on 4 May 1925, with its first branch in Sepah Street in

. Initially, an investment of 3,883,950 Iranian Rials was made from the military ranked personnel pension fund and the bank was set to exclusively provide military personnel with financial aids such as loans. With further increase in their domain of services, the headquarters for the bank was moved to a larger building in Homayoon Street. Starting on 15 March 1926, with opening of another branch in

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

, Bank Sepah began providing services not only to the military personnel but to the more general public such as businessmen. Sepah migrated to core banking solution.

US, UN sanctions

Sanctions were imposed on Bank Sepah by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 9 January 2007, due to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. The United States claimed that the bank assisted Iran in developing missiles that could carry nuclear weapons.http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16420611.htm and all its branches and subsidiaries in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, UK,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

will have their assets frozen by the United States in order to prevent Iran from constructing nuclear weapons. The official website of Bank Sepah in Iran reacted by mentioning the American resolution "fabricated statements based on purely hypothetical pretext, made out of political inducements" and promised that the bank will "continue with its efficient performance with due observance of internal and international regulations as before." On the same basis, further sanctions have also been imposed by the United Nations through Resolution 1747 of 29 March 2007 coinciding with the arrest by the Iranian Government of some British army personnel in the Persian Gulf. In early 2016, following the talks of

P5+1 P5 may refer to: In science and technology * 311P/PANSTARRS, also known as P/2013 P5 (PANSTARRS), an asteroid discovered by the Pan-STARRS telescope on 27 August 2013 * P5 Truss Segment, an element of the International Space Station * Period ...

with Iran on the

Nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, t ...

, and the resultant

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; (, BARJAM)), also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalize ...

, sanctions against Bank Sepah were lifted.

References

External links

{{Authority control Banks established in 1925 Iranian entities subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Government-owned banks of Iran Companies based in Tehran

History

US, UN sanctions

See also

References

External links