🔶 Turkey cancels the operating license of Iran’s Bank Melli after 44 years

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey (BRSA) revoked the license for the Istanbul branch of Iran’s Bank Melli after more than four decades. The regulator, which oversees banks in Turkey, said the reason for this decision was “the potential risk to the bank’s continued operations for depositors and financial stability.”

The decision was reported in Turkish media on Saturday, 28 Shahrivar (19 September). Turkey Today wrote that, alongside the tightening of U.S. sanctions, the operations of one of Iran’s largest commercial banks in this country have been halted.

Bank Melli began operating in Turkey in the early 1980s and, in addition to Istanbul, was also present in Izmir and Ankara. According to data from the Turkish Banks Association, by the end of 2025 the bank had about €41 million in assets and 39 employees in Turkey. The total assets of Bank Melli in Iran were also reported to be about $34.8 billion as of March 2026.