Major European Banks Getting Cozier With Iranian Peers

The multibillion dollar South Korean deal to finance Iranian projects and the recent agreement between major Iranian private banks and their South Korean counterparts to boost correspondent ties have prodded top international lenders to strengthen their ties with Iranian banks.

According to the Export Development Bank of Iran’s chief executive, the situation has changed a lot compared with a few years ago as the level of cooperation with major foreign banks has significantly improved.

“After Iran’s nuclear deal, only small- and medium-sized foreign banks forged correspondent banking relations with Iran but after a few years, major international lenders  started working with Iranian banks,” Ali Salehabadi also told the state radio.

He mentioned Germany’s Deutsche Bank  as an example of  a big lender that had no ties with Iran in the past, but currently accepts Iranian payment orders and processes  their requests.

Deutsche Bank is one of Germany’s leading banks, with a strong position in Europe and a significant presence in the Americas and Asia Pacific. The bank provides banking services to corporations, governments, institutional investors, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and private individuals.

EDBI’s top official named Belgium’s KBC bank as another major European bank that has good ties with Iranian banks.

“Austria’s Oberbank, which already has good ties with Iran, is going to sign a new banking deal with our country in the foreseeable future wherein EDBI will also be a part of the contract to receive a credit line,” he said.

According to the EDBI chief, the bank has correspondent relations with 124 banks across the world.

Salehabadi also announced that Bank Mellat’s Seoul branch has resumed activities in South Korea.

The bank was closed for years due to nuclear sanctions but following the negotiations of the Central Bank of Iran and Foreign Ministry with South Korean officials, the bank once again is open and ready to offer various types of services to business people and merchants.