Three Iranian Banks Plan to Establish Branches in Munich

A German newspaper reported that three Iranian banks, 'Middle East', 'Parsian', and 'Sina', have informed the Minister of Economy of Bavaria that they are planning to establish branches in Munich to facilitate closer relations with German companies. Reuters reported on Sunday, September 14, that this was mentioned by Ilse Aigner, the Minister of Economy of Bavaria, in an interview with the Sunday edition of the local newspaper Merkur published in Munich, and that these three Iranian banks have received permission from the Central Bank of Iran to establish branches abroad. Ms. Aigner, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria, conducted this interview from Tehran while on her second visit to Iran in the past year. She had previously traveled to Iran in November 2015 and is currently in Tehran as part of a three-day visit with a 50-member German economic delegation since September 13, focusing on machinery and financial discussions. She told the Merkur newspaper that 'business communications between companies active in Bavaria and Iran have often failed due to obstacles in the payment process, and therefore the existence of branches of Iranian banks in Munich is particularly important for our business activities.' The Minister of Economy of Bavaria added that Iranian banks will now be able to benefit from professional assistance to set up their satellite offices in Munich and track the approval process. Ms. Aigner noted that there is a 'huge potential for exports to Iran' especially for small and medium-sized companies in Bavaria, which can thus engage in this work with more facilities in the future. According to her, sectors in Germany such as engineering, automotive, aviation, environmental technologies, and medical technologies have a major inclination towards exporting to Iran. Reuters' report reminded that many European companies state that despite the lifting of Iran's nuclear sanctions last January, they still cannot rely on financing from Western banks, as these banks are concerned about the impact of remaining U.S. sanctions, particularly in the area of anti-money laundering. The report adds that during the nuclear sanctions, Iranian companies used methods such as transferring funds through currency exchanges for their business activities, which were costly, time-consuming, and sometimes unreliable.