Normalization of Iran – Europe banking relations


TEHRAN (CBI PR dept) – In a meeting with Brigitte Zypries, the German Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Governor of the Central Bank of I.R.Iran expressed his pleasure with the lifting of outrageous sanctions against Iran and said, “JCPOA is not the end of the road and we hope that mutual understanding will pave the way for more cooperation between Iranian and western companies and banks”.


In this meeting, Seif insisted that Iranian's expectations in the current situation is far from what they expected during the negotiations and implementation of JCPOA. “During JCPOA negotiations, each side assumed some obligations and decided the conditions for returning to pre-sanction era to be provided. Unfortunately, despite the clarity of the JCPOA document the Western banks still refer to uncertainties and express their worries”, he said.

"Today and after nearly 9 months of the implementation of JCPOA, the western side has taken no effective step in fulfilling its commitments and in some cases major Western banks are hesitant about correspondent relations with Iran. It is always said that Iran has fulfilled its commitments." he added.
The CBI Governor considered American sabotage as one of the main obstacles on the way to normalize banking relationships between European countries and Iran and said: “I believe that relations between Iran and Europe is on the way of normalization and return to past levels, but concerns arising mainly from America constitute an obstacle in this way. We expect European countries to put pressure on America to fulfill its commitments.

The deal with Airbus to buy 118 aircrafts during Iranian President’s visit to France confirms this claim. OFAC permitted Iran to purchase only 17 Airbus planes, while the American Boeing company was able to obtain permission to sell 80 aircrafts to Iran. This difference shows the obstacles which America has made on the way of development of international relations with Iran".

"Iran's banking system is now able to provide KYC services as proportionate to its existing facilities in the country. Moreover, the bank identity and ownership status is clear in Iranian banking system. These capabilities can be utilized to establish business relations”, said Seif referring to the banking system's capacity to provide information about the companies.
The CBI Governor stated that Iran is moving towards international standards and added, “CBI has been encouraging banks to comply with international standards for three years and now we observe good results”.
Referring to his talks with the Governor of Central Bank of Germany during a visit, Dr. Seif released the news about technical cooperation between the two central banks. He considered Germany as one of the main business partners of Iran and said, “Due to historic relations between two countries, Germany has a specific reputation in Iran and is one of the first priorities in supplying industrial needs particularly in the fields of production lines and machinery.
Seif considered Iran's current resources and young educated workforce as well as its 400 million consumer market as the main attractions for investing in Iran and added, “Because of competitive conditions in the world economy, the capacity for investment is restricted in many parts of the world and there are only a few places to invest in. Iran enjoys a high capacity for successful investments by Western countries. Those companies and banks which held joint cooperation with Iran in the past benefited from good business relations and felt satisfied”.
"Over the years and even when our country encountered difficulties and hard currency restrictions, Iran has tried to settle its accounts at due time. Fortunately, settlements were made as soon as the sanctions were lifted and restrictions were removed. It is totally unacceptable and unrealistic for some countries to consider Iran as a risky country.” He added.
 “I hope the German delegation's visit to Iran signifies a turning point in business and banking relations between the two nations. Many contracts are ready to be implemented; however, lack of good banking relations between the two countries remains a major problem”, Seif continued.
The German Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries considered lifting of sanctions as a pre-requisite for establishing and expanding trade relations and cooperation between the two nations and said, “Sanctions constituted the main impediments for the relations between the two countries. Removing them provided us with the possibility to extend our cooperation. Iran has settled its arrears to Hermes insurance and raised hopes for the formation of trade cooperation. Fortunately, my colleague is in Washington DC now to discuss the behavior and vision of America for the future relations with Iran”.
Zypries mentioned that the results of JCPOA are evident in Iran and said, “Given the economic conditions created due to the achievements of the Iranian government in inflation reduction, improvement of investment, trade relations and partnerships with international banking and financial systems; development of cooperation seems achievable. But we should not overlook the role of governmental guarantees in cooperation between the two nations. For example, Hermes Insurance guarantees transactions with Iran. It has already issued 5.6 million Euros of guarantees and another 11.6 million Euros is pending. About 2.3 billion Euros of deal with Iran is underway. All these factors indicate improvement in relations and the two sides should prove resilience in this direction”.
A delegation of 120 businessmen, traders and representatives of the German central bank accompanied Sigmar Gabriel, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Energy of Germany in his visit to Tehran.

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