Bank Mellat

Bank Mellat is a private Iranian bank. Its name means "Bank of the Nation." Bank Mellat was established in 1980, with a paid capital of Rials 33.5 billion as a merger of ten pre-revolution private banks, comprising Tehran, Dariush, Pars, Etebarat Taavoni & Tozie, Iran & Arab, Bein-al-melalie-Iran, Omran, Bimeh Iran, Tejarat Khareji Iran, and Farhangian. Currently, the bank's capital amounts to Rls 13,100 billion and it is one of the largest commercial banks in the Islamic Republic of Iran, ranking among the top 1000 banks of the world. In 2007 the Iranian government started the process of privatizing the bank as part of a policy of selling 80% of state-owned stakes in banking, media, transportation, and mining companies. The Bank Mellat London branch was merged with the Bank Tejarat branch to form Persia International Bank PLC.