Iranian banks faced massive queues and public frustration on December 17 as widespread branch closures due to gas shortages entered their second week, causing significant disruption to business operations and personal banking services.

According to local financial paper Donyaye Eqtesad, customers waited for more than two hours at functioning branches, with the situation particularly acute in smaller cities where even designated emergency branches remained closed. The crisis has affected everything from routine transactions to planned gold coin auctions.

The banking disruptions come amid Iran's worst gas shortage in recent years, with daily consumption expected to reach 680mn cubic metres despite network capacity constraints. The National Gas Company has prioritised residential heating over commercial users, leading to widespread closures of banks, government offices, businesses and educational institutions across the country.

Officials say the crisis has been exacerbated by record-low temperatures, with 480 out of 675 weather stations recording sub-zero temperatures this week. The situation has particularly affected Tehran, where temperatures have remained below freezing for several days, pushing household gas consumption to unprecedented levels and forcing authorities to implement emergency service reductions across the commercial sector.

"The situation is especially critical in provincial areas, where even designated duty branches are not operational," a banking sector source told bnm IntelliNews.

The unplanned nature of the closures has raised questions about crisis management preparedness. Critics argue that authorities should have implemented contingency plans to maintain minimal banking services before implementing the closures.

The crisis has sparked heated debate about the effectiveness of Iran's electronic banking infrastructure. "Many banking services can be performed remotely," noted one online banking user, while others pointed to significant limitations. "Online services are capped at IRR200mn daily; everything else is locked," responded a frustrated customer.

Investment funds have been particularly hard hit by the branch closures. "Fixed-income funds cannot process transactions because their branch accounts are closed and cannot be referred to duty branches," explained one fund manager. "All fund managers are being forced to sell their securities to provide liquidity for investors, which is pushing market interest rates higher."

The impact varies significantly across different banking channels. While some users cited the availability of multiple payment systems, including SATNA and PAYA, others described the current electronic banking infrastructure as inadequate for business needs. "With these limits, this isn't Switzerland," remarked one social media user, reflecting widespread frustration with service restrictions.

Regional disparities in service availability have become more pronounced, with provincial areas reporting more severe disruptions than major cities.

The banking-cum-energy crisis represents another challenge for Iran's financial sector as it grapples with both energy shortages and growing public demand for banking, with the current administration struggling to deal with the ongoing issues of a lack of investment from decades of sanctions. 

The negativity from the back of ongoing bank closures is also feeding into the unregulated foreign currency market, with the US dollar reaching a new high of IRR770,000 on December 17.