Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.22
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Most of Iranian private banks are in talks with seven foreign banks to transfer $4.2 billion of Iran's assets, which have been recently released, the Fars News Agency reported on Jan.22.
The Iranian private sector is negotiating with Societe General, Standard Chartered, Dresdner Bank, Commerce Bank, Bhf Bank, CREDIT Suisse, and one other bank in this regard.
Iran has about $100 billion in foreign exchange assets around the world, of which it will be able to access $4.2 billion under last year's nuclear agreement with six world powers, a senior U.S. administration official said on Jan 17, Reuters reported.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the money and assets were held in various countries and that a significant proportion was Iran's oil revenue. Financial and other sanctions have meant Tehran has not had free access to spend it.
The governor of Iran's central bank said in mid-2012 it had built up $150 billion in foreign reserves to protect itself against tightening punitive measures on the country.
Under the Nov. 24, six-month accord between Iran and the major powers, Tehran will receive limited sanctions relief, which the U.S. estimates to be worth about $7 billion, in return for curbing its disputed nuclear program.
Of this amount, $4.2 billion is in the form of access to currently blocked Iranian revenue held abroad.