With around 80 years of experience Bank Keshavarzi (BK) has made great contributions to the development of the agriculture sector through its crucial financial assistance and has disbursed the highest amount of credits demanded in the sector. Providing millions of accounts and billions of credit disbursement annually, BK has maintained its prominent role in the Iranian banking industry, and, in recent years, played a leading role in the application of state-of-the-art technology to offer electronic banking services. Its on-line nationwide data network, which is at present operational and was created in 500 selected branches in the initial phase, will be expanded to 1,100 branches. In the following year, BK's e-banking services provision is expected to develop on the back of a new strong software and hardware infrastructure.
One of the fundamental steps BK has taken during the past few years has been its participation as a founding member in launching the National Electronic Payment System known as SHETAB. At present, all state-owned and private banks have joined this network.
Innovation, development, and diversification of products and services are the prime strategies of BK. As a result, the following have been added to the bank's basket of services: Mehr credit cards, kids bank, national youth card, women savings fund, electronic queuing systems, agricultural investment guarantee fund aimed at supporting farmers and agricultural operatives, and Agricultural Commodity Exchange.

Recent achievements
Given the foregoing developments, BK has once received the prestigious "Bank of the Year" awarded by The banker magazine for some consecutive years in stiff competition with other major banks of the country, further highlighting its strong performance during the past years. Meanwhile, BK has also achieved other notable successes at the national level: The national medal for eligibility and management was awarded to the chairman by the president of the country. The country's Management and planning Organization acknowledged BK as a commendable organization for two consecutive years. It was granted the ISO9001:2000 certificate for quality management system. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) upgraded the ranking of BK from category B to A in its latest evaluation. Subsequently, the success story of Bank Keshavarzi, as the best bank of Iran, was presented in 2004 annual meeting of IDB general assembly in Tehran on IDB's request; and it was ranked as the best-specialized bank of Iran by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Because of the effective efforts aimed at diversifying BK's income, there has been a remarkable growth in its profitability and the total assets displayed a noticeable increase.

Challenges and Future Plans
With the emergence of private banks and nongovernmental credit and finance institutions seeking to expand their scope of activities, the environment affecting the Iranian banking system has become more competitive. The government's commitment to employment creation and economic prosperity on the one hand, and the growing social awareness of global banking developments on the other, has sharply raised public expectations from the domestic banking system. To remain positively active in such a competitive industry and play a more effective role in the country's agriculture and economy, Bank Keshavarzi plans to:

• create a conglomerate organization (holding) aimed at expanding the outreach of services, enhancing its funding and reducing its risks;
• create an investment bank within financial holding framework to orient investment and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the capital market;
• diversify activities of the Agricultural Products Insurance Fund to change it into a specialized insurance institution,
• establish a rural housing fund to upgrade the standard of living of farmers;
• enhance the branch network with emphasis placed on creating virtual branches;
• develop the outreach of electronic banking and foster wider application of modern technology-based services among customers;
• improve portfolio structure of the bank with the emphasis resting on financial self-reliance:
• reform the bank into a learning organization in a bid to institutionalize learning, innovation, and continuous improvement in the quality of products and services;
• move towards universal banking and expand its business in overseas markets.
• implement various incentives and special offers and services for target and partner customers in order to create value for customers.

Agricultural Lands Development Company: Land Bank (Bank Zamin)
In the State Economic Development Program, Agriculture has been regarded as the main subject. In this direction and concerning limitation of water and soil, to improve these sources and optimum use of these blessings of God, Bank Keshavarzi, as the only specialized bank in agricultural department and main provider of agricultural and developmental credits in the state, established Agricultural Lands Development Company: Land Bank (Bank Zamin) to increase participation of private sector. The company officially started its activities to achieve some objectives such as attracting required investment in re-cultivable lands, facilitating agricultural development, increasing economic revenue, etc.

Revenue and Development
In order to achieve the company's objectives, totally more than 12000 Hectares (In provinces of Ilam 1200 Hectares, Kerman 3000 Hectares, Fars 2100 Hectares, Systan and Balouchestan 3300 Hectares, Esfahan 600 Hectares, East Azerbaijan 1700 Hectares and Gilan 120 Hectares ) have been handed over to cultivators and local natives are being put in operation and 2500 Hectares have been prepared and are being transferred to target groups.
In provinces of Mazandaran, Khouzestan and West Azarbaijan 23650 Hectares are being studied and in Provinces of Khouzestan and Golestan 1100 Hectares are being transferred for possession and the applied researches are being performed in order to set up green house in Shabestar city-East Azerbaijan.

Method of Offering Services

• Possession of agricultural re-cultivable and developable lands through agreements such as purchasing, and renting;
• Surveying recognition and preference with emphasis on the optimum revenue order;
• Providing the executive designs such as water providing designs, equipping and innovating of farms (grading, constructing irrigation nets and drainage, roads among farms...) and general establishments.
• Performing the prepared designs
• Handing over re-cultivated lands to legal and natural persons considering policies of agriculture sector through cash and installment payment agreements proportionate to production output of lands;