Islamic Republic of Iran: Bank Keshavarzi, the Agricultural Bank. Near East
Sustainable microfinance institutions in Iran have been poorly developed, mainly due to overregulation and subsidization on the part of the government. Bank Keshavarzi is a government owed agricultural bank acting as both a development and a commercial entity. Bank Keshravzi undertook a period of structural reform between 1998 and 2004 that involved resource mobilization, e-banking initiatives, credit and investment services, finance strategies, and human resources strategies. BK has been a profitable bank since 2001-2002 and has become gradually more self-reliant.