Financial Tribune - The Central Bank of Iran said Saturday that plans for merging five banks and credit institutions affiliated to armed forces with the state-owned Bank Sepah is in motion.

A notice published on the CBI website says the measure is taken in the follow-up to earlier decisions by the Money and Credit Council - a major monetary decision-making body - and the Supreme Council of Economic Coordination � a body comprising heads of three branches of government formed at the behest of Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to address major economic issues.

"As part of efforts to centralize the capability and capacity of the entities, namely Ansar Bank, Bank Hekamt Iranian, Mehr Eqtesad Bank, Ghavamin Bank, and Kosar Credit Institution are being merged into a more efficient and stable bank," the CBI said.