Small German banks say they plan to maintain their dealings with Iran even after the United States reinstates sanctions against the country in November.
Small German banks say they plan to maintain their dealings with Iran even after the United States reinstates sanctions against the country in November.
AFP in a report said the determination of small lenders to keep their Iran business was because interest in sensitive markets like Iran and Sudan had seen a significant rise among enterprises from Germany as well as Switzerland over the past few years.
“We will continue to serve our clients,” for now, said Patrizia Melfi, a director at the “international competence centre” (KCI) founded by six cooperative savings banks in the small town of Tuttlingen in southwest Germany.
German exports to Iran have grown since the nuclear deal was signed in 2015, adding 15.5 percent last year to reach almost 2.6 billion euros ($3.0 billion) after a 22-percent growth in 2016.
Nevertheless, the KCI will “wait and see what the sanctions look like” before turning away from Iran, Melfi said as reported by AFP.
AFP added that among Germany’s roughly 390 Sparkasse savings banks, business with Iran is mostly limited to producing documents linked to export contracts.
“We will be looking even more closely at those” in the future, it quoted a person familiar with the trade as saying