Iranian financial authorities have allowed artists and art owners to use certified artworks as collateral for banking, following regulatory changes and coordination between financial and cultural institutions.

The Institute for the Development of Culture and Art said artworks holding an official certificate of authenticity can now be registered on Bank Saderat Iran’s collateral management platform, allowing them to be pledged as security for financial services.

The move follows a new directive issued by the Central Bank of Iran and is intended to integrate cultural assets into the country’s formal collateral and financing framework. Under the new mechanism, eligible artworks can be recorded on the system and used to back loans, effectively recognising them as financeable assets.

The artwork authenticity certificate scheme, which provides formal documentation verifying ownership and provenance, was officially launched this week. The acceptance of such certified works as collateral is seen as a step towards strengthening the infrastructure required to incorporate intangible assets into Iran’s financial system.

The development is expected to improve access to finance for artists and participants in Iran’s cultural sector by allowing them to leverage artworks as recognised financial assets.

Apart from supporting the artists and art lovers, Iranian banks, not all of them, have been showing interest in runing art-related businesses. Bank Pasargad Iran's Musuem for Conmporary Art was an early example of such businesses. 

Bank Saderat was described as one of the first lenders to operationalise the platform in this area. Authorities indicated that there are plans to expand the “Set” system into a national platform, enabling other banks to process collateral and secured financing transactions through the same framework.