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Italy’s largest bank to open branch in Iran

Business Materials 13 April 2016 14:56 (UTC +04:00)


Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 13

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

First Western bank will open a branch in Iran following the removal of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic last January, Fars news ageny reported April 13.

Italy's largest bank, UniCredit, plans to open branch in Iran, Italian PM Matteo Renzi said on the sidelines of Iran-Italy joint business forum in Tehran.

The bank is the first European bank which has signed agreement with Iranian authorities on the issue, Renzi said.

Earlier in February Valiollah Seif, governor of the Central Bank of Iran said that UniCredit has expressed its willingness to cooperate with Iranian lenders.

The CBI is trying to normalize ties with European lenders, Seif said, adding the CBI's account in Italy has been reactivated after negotiations with the governor of Italy's central bank, Banca d'Italia.

Last year the bank was subject to investigation by the US authorities regarding possible violation of sanctions against Iran.

UniCredit said in 2012 that its German unit HVB was being investigated in the United States as part of a global crackdown on possible violations of sanctions on Iran.

It should be noted that Italian PM Matteo Renzi, heading a 250-member political and economic delegation, arrived in Tehran on Apr. 12 to discuss the expansion of ties.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Renzi oversaw a ceremony Apr. 12 for signing of the MOU with an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas, Enel, where five other documents were inked, as well.

So far, Iran and Italy have agreed on a total of 36 deals as six new documents were signed in Tehran, and 30 documents were signed in Rome in January.

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