In a meeting between the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) and Muhammad Kazem Choghazardi, CEO of Bank Sepah on Thursday in Tehran, an agreement was reached on Sepah reopening its Frankfurt branch.
The German side hailed Bank Sepah’s recent moves to raise capital, improve management and human resources, equip the Frankfurt office with advanced computer systems and reform its organizational structure in line with international norms.
Referring to the recent meetings with Italy’s central bank and economic officials, Choghazardi outlined the role and status of Bank Sepah in the country’s banking system, and highlighted Tehran’s sustained measures to improve its banking and economic sectors, including plans to achieve 5% economic growth this year (started Mar 20) and a curb the inflation rate.
He also mentioned his bank’s latest activities such as obtaining authorization from the Financial Supervisory Authorities of Italy to reopen its Rome branch and buying premises Bank Sepah’s Paris branch.
Bank Sepah’s operations in Europe were halted in 2007 due to the sanctions imposed on the bank. However, the United Nations removed Sepah and its international branches from sanctions list this January.
Bank of Industry and Mine
The CEO of the Bank of Industry and Mine, also in a meeting with BaFin officials briefed them on the latest economic, cultural and social developments and called for a better understanding the country’s current situation by the German banks.
During the meeting he asked the Germans to provide Iranian lenders with the necessary recommendations for accelerating the resumption of two-way the banking relations.
“Regarding new economic conditions created by the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Bank of Industry and Mine, as a development bank, which plays a key role in the provision of financial resources for the steel, petrochemical, energy and infrastructure industry projects, is aspiring to contribute effectively to the development of the country with the help of foreign resources,” Ali Ashraf Afkhami was quoted as saying by Pool News on Thursday.
