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German Banks Unfazed by US' Anti-Iran Stance

German firms, especially those without business links to the US, want to continue their Iran business.
German firms, especially those without business links to the US, want to continue their Iran business.

While Germany’s big banks are studiously avoiding Iran-related deals for fear of US reprisals, six credit unions, or Volksbanken, from southern Germany appear unafraid and are continuing to provide trade finance to the country. 
Patrizia Melfi, the head of the International Competence Center that was set up by the banks to handle foreign business, told the German newspaper Handelsblatt that the supervisory board “gave us the green light on Thursday”.
Days later, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to impose “the strongest sanctions in history” on Iran after the United States pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal this month.
Despite Washington’s hard line on Tehran, the center will keep handling transactions for companies that export goods and services to Iran. Their affairs will likely continue unimpeded until early August, when the United States’ new rules come into effect. For now, the US has yet to enact legally-binding sanctions. 

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