Large Iranian state-owned bank; described by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as the bank of choice of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) and as a financial conduit for acquiring sensitive materials for Iran's missile program from abroad.

According to the U.S. Treasury, arranges financing and processes multi-million dollar transactions for AIO and its subordinates and serves as a provider of key financial services to AIO subsidiaries Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG) and Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG); both SHIG and SBIG were identified by the U.N. Security Council as entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program; according to the U.S. Treasury Department, in 2005 financed the sale of missile related items from a Chinese firm to Iran and transferred more than $500,000 on behalf of AIO to a North Korean firm associated with the Korea Mining Development Trading Bureau (KOMID), which has been described by the Treasury Department as North Korea's chief ballistic missile-related exporter.

Operates 1,700 domestic branches, three branches abroad in Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, and one wholly owned subsidiary, Bank Sepah International Plc in London; affiliated companies have included Omid Investment Management Company (OIM Co) and Bank Sepah Brokerage Company (BSB Co); together with OIM Co and BSB Co, owns over 50 percent of shares of the Sepah Investment Company.

Members of the Board of Directors have included Mohammad Kazem Chaghazardi, Hamed Heyat, Hamidreza Khatibi, Esa Kazemnezhad, Hadi Akhlaghi, and Ahmad Derakhshandeh.

Swift Bank Code for Bank Sepah in Iran is SEPB IR TH; registration number is 4293.

Established in 1925.

Sanctions

Designated by the U.N. Security Council on March 24, 2007, pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006), as an entity involved in or supporting Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; with some exceptions, the designation requires states to freeze assets that are owned or controlled by the entity, directly or indirectly, and to ensure that assets are not made available to the entity.

Previously removed from the U.N. list on January 17, 2016, following a delisting request; returned to the U.N. list on September 28, 2025, as part of the reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

Listed by the European Union on April 21, 2007, as an entity linked to Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran's development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; with some exceptions, E.U. member states must freeze assets owned or controlled by the entity, directly or indirectly, and prevent assets from being made available to it.

Previously removed from the E.U. list on January 23, 2016; returned to the E.U. list on September 29, 2025, as part of the reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

Added on January 9, 2007, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their delivery systems; also designated pursuant to Executive Order 13599, which targets entities controlled by the Government of Iran and Iranian financial institutions; also subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, which restrict the use of the U.S. financial system for transactions involving Iranian entities.

Foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity may be subject to U.S. sanctions; foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for the entity may be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States; subject to heightened U.S. export license requirements (with a presumption of denial) due to involvement in activities related to WMD proliferation.

Previously removed from the SDN list on January 16, 2016, pursuant to the JCPOA, but identified as a part of the Government of Iran, prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties; returned to the SDN list on November 5, 2018, as part of the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Sanctioned by the governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, restricting business and financial transactions with the entity and/or freezing its assets in those countries.

Listed by the British government in 2015 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement, but removed in 2017 after the U.K. withdrew its Iran list.