Iranian bank opens office in Rome
One of Iran's leading private banks said it has opened an office in Europe in what could be a sign of fresh openings in the country's international banking relations after the removal of sanctions.
In a statement, Saman Bank announced that it had opened a representative office in Rome after obtaining the required authorizations from Iranian and Italian central banks, Press TV reported.
The bank added that the move was aimed at providing funding and investment consulting services to European clients interested in the Iranian market.
It further said the office sought to introduce Iran's investment opportunities to European businesses particularly those based in Italy.
Saman Bank further announced that it had signed an exclusive credit provision agreement with Italy's export credit agency SACE in 2015 to promote exports by European as well as Iranian producers.
Over the past decades, Iran has been subject to a series of primary US sanctions including those on banking activities and access to the dollar.
The nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in January 2016 after Iran reached a deal with the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany. However, since US primary sanctions still remain, most European banks and businesses are still reluctant to conduct business out of fear of falling afoul of US sanctions against Iran.
Earlier this month, senior managers of Iran's Export Guarantee Fund and Slovakia's Export-Import Bank signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of spring meeting of Berne Union in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Iranian and Slovak financial institutes agreed to cooperate in the fields of banking, insurance and exchange of information on trade and economic cooperation.
The Iranian side expressed pleasure over growing trade ties with European states, including Slovakia, and hoped that banking and insurance cooperation would expand in the near future.
Export Guarantee Fund of Iran also signed the MoU with Finland's Export Credit Insurance Institute (Finnvera) on May 16 on the sidelines of the spring meeting of Berne Union.
Slovakia with a population of around six million has a gross domestic product of $100 billion with a growth rate of one percent.
Iran and Slovakia signed two MoUs on expansion of investment and avoiding double-taxation in 2015.
source : iran-daily