Export Development Bank of Iran
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA state-owned Iranian policy bank focused on financing exports, imports, and international economic cooperation.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Export Development Bank of Iran, commonly abbreviated as EDBI, is an Iranian state-owned policy bank serving the country's export and import sectors. It was created as Iran's export-import bank and operates under a public economic mandate rather than as a conventional privately controlled commercial bank. Its charter assigns it a role in supporting the national economy by promoting non-oil exports of Iranian goods and Iranian-origin technical and engineering services, while also helping develop economic cooperation with other countries. The bank was established following approval by an Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Banks on 10 July 1991. It began operating on 24 November 1991 as a state-owned institution. Its creation reflected Iran's effort to establish a specialized financial intermediary for foreign trade and export development, with a focus extending beyond the country's oil economy. In this policy-bank role, EDBI is intended to provide financial support and related banking services to Iranian exporters and importers, rather than simply compete for general retail banking business. EDBI's activities include conventional banking and trade-related financial services for businesses engaged in cross-border commerce. The available reference material describes its customer base broadly as Iranian exporters and importers and identifies its policy purpose as supporting non-oil merchandise exports, technical services, and engineering services. Specific product terms, branch statistics, balance-sheet figures, and current management information are not established in the supplied sources, so the bank's entry is limited to documented institutional functions rather than unverified operational details. The bank is also connected to Iran's public development-finance system. The National Development Fund of Iran was established in 2011 as a sovereign wealth and development fund. EDBI has been among the Iranian banks that entered agency arrangements with the fund for allocating resources toward private-sector investment. This connection gives the bank an additional channel for implementing public development and export-support priorities, although the supplied material does not provide a current breakdown of disbursements or the bank's financial performance. EDBI has also been affected by the international sanctions environment surrounding Iran. Following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 16 January 2016, the bank was described as absent from United Nations and European Union sanctions lists. The United States later designated EDBI under the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals framework on 11 May 2018, making it subject to U.S. secondary sanctions. These measures are significant to the bank's international operating environment because they restrict or complicate relationships involving the U.S. financial system and counterparties exposed to U.S. sanctions jurisdiction. The available material identifies EDBI as an active Iranian government-owned export-import policy bank. It does not establish a separate private parent, a stock-market ticker, a confirmed public listing, a current chief executive, or a current official website address. The bank's principal institutional identity therefore remains that of a specialized public financial organization supporting Iranian foreign trade and non-oil export policy.
History
Export Development Bank of Iran was formed as a specialized state financial institution for Iranian foreign trade. Its institutional mandate was shaped by the Iranian government's objective of increasing non-oil exports and strengthening the country's economic relationships with other countries. Rather than being established primarily as a mass-market retail bank, EDBI was designed to act as an export-import bank and as an administrative instrument of public economic policy. The bank's establishment was approved by an Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Banks on 10 July 1991. It became operational on 24 November of the same year as a state-owned bank. From the outset, its charter connected banking activity with national development goals. The documented mandate includes promoting exports of non-oil goods originating in Iran, supporting the international sale of Iranian technical and engineering services, and contributing to economic cooperation with other countries. This mandate places EDBI within Iran's broader system of specialized and policy-oriented financial institutions. Its documented customer base consists principally of Iranian exporters and importers. The bank provides conventional banking and other financial services in support of those businesses, with its institutional purpose centered on cross-border trade rather than an exclusively domestic commercial-banking model. The supplied reference material does not specify the full range of current lending instruments, branch network, subsidiaries, or customer numbers. A further stage in the bank's public-finance role followed the creation of the National Development Fund of Iran in 2011. The fund entered agency contracts with several Iranian banks, including EDBI, to help allocate resources for private-sector investment. This relationship linked EDBI's trade-finance function with a wider national development-finance mechanism. The cited material reports a fund-wide commitment for investment support, but it does not provide a verified current amount specifically attributable to EDBI, so no bank-level figure is recorded here. International sanctions have been an important part of EDBI's operating context. After the JCPOA's implementation on 16 January 2016, the bank was described as absent from United Nations and European Union sanctions lists. That position changed in relation to the United States when the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control placed EDBI on the Specially Designated Nationals list on 11 May 2018. The designation subjected the bank to U.S. secondary-sanctions exposure and created substantial constraints for international banks and companies considering transactions with it. The available reference material does not document a change in ownership, privatization, stock-market listing, current executive leadership, or a confirmed official web address. EDBI is therefore best characterized as an active, government-owned Iranian export-import and development bank whose historical and continuing identity is tied to non-oil export promotion, trade finance, public development programs, and Iran's changing sanctions environment.
- 2018
U.S. sanctions designation
[1]The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control added EDBI to the Specially Designated Nationals list on 11 May 2018.
- 2016
JCPOA implementation
[1]On 16 January 2016, EDBI was described as absent from United Nations and European Union sanctions lists following implementation of the nuclear agreement.
- 2011
National Development Fund created
[1]The National Development Fund of Iran was established, later entering agency arrangements with Iranian banks including EDBI for private-sector investment support.
- 1991
Establishment approved
[1]An Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Banks approved the creation of Export Development Bank of Iran on 10 July 1991.
- 1991
Operations begin
[1]EDBI began operating as a state-owned bank on 24 November 1991.
Products and positioning
A government-owned Iranian export-import and development bank positioned as a policy-finance institution for non-oil exports, foreign trade, and international economic cooperation.
Trade finance
Export finance
Policy-oriented financing intended to support Iranian exporters and the international sale of non-oil goods originating in Iran. The bank's charter identifies export promotion as a central function, although the supplied sources do not specify individual loan products, maturities, or eligibility rules.
Trade finance
Import finance
Financial and conventional banking services for Iranian importers. These services form part of EDBI's export-import banking role, but the available reference material does not provide a detailed catalogue of instruments or transaction terms.
Export development finance
Technical and engineering services finance
Support for the international export of Iranian-origin technical and engineering services. This activity is expressly connected to the bank's chartered development mandate and distinguishes EDBI from a purely domestic commercial bank.
Development banking · 2011
Development-fund agency financing
Agency-based allocation of resources associated with the National Development Fund of Iran. EDBI is identified as one of the Iranian banks used to channel fund resources toward private-sector investment, although the supplied sources do not establish a separate branded product or current allocation.
Brand decisions
2011
Participate in National Development Fund agency arrangementsStrategyBackground
The National Development Fund of Iran was established to support national development and private-sector investment.
Action taken
EDBI entered an agency relationship with the fund alongside other Iranian banks to help allocate development resources.
Aftermath
The bank's role extended beyond trade finance into implementation of public development-fund programs.
1991
Create a specialized state export-import bankStrategyBackground
Iran sought an institutional mechanism to promote non-oil exports, support Iranian exporters and importers, and expand economic cooperation with other countries.
Action taken
The banks' Extraordinary General Assembly approved EDBI's establishment, and the institution began operating as a state-owned policy bank later that year.
Aftermath
EDBI became Iran's specialized public bank for export-import finance and related development objectives.
Recent events
Reported
Next Gen Foods raises $100 million[2]
Next Gen Foods raised $100 million in a funding round, taking its total funding above $130 million. The company said the funding would support international expansion and research capabilities.
Reported
Nuevocor completes US$24 million Series A financing[3]
Nuevocor announced that it completed an oversubscribed US$24 million Series A financing, co-led by EVX Ventures and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, with EDBI, Xora Innovation and SEEDS Capital also participating.
Sources5 sources
- 1Export Development Bank of Iranen.wikipedia.org
- 2Next Gen Foods筹得1亿美元资金thepoultrysite.com
- 3Nuevocor完成2400万美元A轮融资prnasia.com
- 4Next Gen Foods Debuts TiNDLE in the United States and Announces a Record-Breaking $100 Million Series A Funding Roundprnewswire.com
- 5Nuevocor closes US$24M Series A Financing to Advance Novel Gene Therapies for Cardiomyopathiesprnewswire.com
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