Member of Parliament: The Government is Unable to Secure Resources for Marriage Loans

A member of the Economic Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly states that despite 400,000 people waiting for marriage loans, the government has been unable to secure the necessary resources for these loans due to "monetary imbalance." According to Hadi Mohammadpour, the budget bill for the year 1404 (2025) allocates 375 trillion tomans for childbearing, employment, and marriage loans, but banks continue to face difficulties in providing marriage loans. This member of the Economic Commission also mentioned that the acceptance of individuals' subsidy accounts as collateral for marriage loans has not been proposed in the assembly, but he acknowledges that people are struggling to provide guarantees even for small loans. His statements and those of other officials in Iran indicate that the government is facing challenges in providing marriage loans due to budget deficits. Concurrently, reports from Iranian media indicate that in recent months, some applicants for marriage loans have faced issues registering in the "Qarz al-Hasna Marriage Loans" system, with some not even reaching the "introduction to the branch" stage after weeks of effort. Banks in Iran lack the funds to provide marriage loans. This comes at a time when Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has emphasized marriage and childbearing in recent years, making this policy one of the government's main priorities. The government has made numerous promises and proposed various plans to achieve its demographic goals, including tax exemptions and loan provisions. According to a resolution from the Islamic Consultative Assembly, banks are required to provide 350 million tomans to newlywed couples under 25 years old and 300 million tomans to other couples. However, increasing economic pressures on the population in recent years have made this loan one of the most attractive loans available in Iran due to its low amount and interest rate, leading some to claim that it has caused an increase in "fake marriages and marriages for loan acquisition" and "the buying and selling of banking facilities in the black market." Additionally, despite the attractiveness of the marriage loan for applicants, it has not been available to all young couples in a timely manner over the past two years. While the government promises young people marriage loans, banks claim they are facing difficulties in providing these loans. A look at the state of banks also shows that the government's mandatory facilities have created problems for banks, which sometimes obstruct the loan provision process for this reason. As of July this year, the accumulated losses of Iran's banking system exceeded 370 trillion tomans, which is more than half of the projected oil revenue in this year's budget. Although the dire state of Iranian banks has reduced their lending capacity, some reports indicate that banks are reluctant to provide marriage loans due to "low interest rates" and "mandatory nature." Consequently, many applicants have been unable to obtain these loans due to the difficult conditions of securing a guarantor. Official reports indicate that banks not only lack the willingness to provide this loan but also allocate their resources for loans to other priorities. In September of this year, a report on the distribution of large loans by banks revealed that they allocate a significant portion of their lending capacity to "employees and their subordinates." Statements from officials and statistics indicate that the difficult economic situation and the government's budget deficit have seriously impacted the provision of marriage loans. Iran's oil revenues have been affected by international sanctions in recent years, and increased military expenditures have also impacted the government's economic power. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on December 6: "When enemies threatened, we said we would close our oil to you; today, which oil are we closing? Which market do we have?" These statements indicate that the Iranian government has been under severe financial constraints more than ever in recent months.