Financial Services

"Three foreign banks are opening up representative offices in Iran as the country seeks to boost investment after reaching an international sanctions deal last year, a central bank official said. Oman’s Bank Muscat SAOG, Woori Bank of South Korea and India’s UCO Bank Ltd. are all in the process of establishing a presence in Tehran, Central Bank Vice Governor Peyman Ghorbani said Tuesday in an interview." (Bloomberg News, "Three Foreign Banks to Open in Iran, Central Bank Official Says," 11/1/2016).

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Bank Muscat is listed as an attendee at the Iranian Base Metals Conference that took place from September 6-7, 2016 in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Base Metals Conference Attendees, 2016).

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"Iran is gradually restoring banking links with the rest of the world by forging ties with smaller foreign institutions, even though large global banks are still holding back because of legal risks, Iranian officials and foreign bankers say… 'Two hundred small and medium-sized international banks have started correspondent relationships with Iranian banks,' Iran's central bank said in an emailed response to questions by Reuters... Oman's Bank Muscat is another institution doing business with Iran, the Iranian central bank said." (Reuters, “Small banks help Iran slowly restore foreign financial ties,” 6/15/2016)

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"Bank Muscat has received all regulatory approvals to open a representative office in Iran, Oman's largest lender said in a bourse filing on Tuesday. 'The bank is in the process of registering the representative office and expects it to open later in 2016,' Bank Muscat said. On Feb. 25, the bank said it planned to open an office in Iran. Bank Muscat appears to be one of the first foreign financial firms to establish a presence in Iran since the international sanctions, imposed over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme, were lifted in January. Many international lenders continue to shun dealing with Iranian clients for fear of falling foul of the many other restrictions imposed by the United States that remain in force." (Reuters, “Oman's Bank Muscat gets regulatory approvals to open in Iran,” 4/5/2016)

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Referenced as conducting business with Iranian and U.S. banks. (Avi Jorisch, "Iran's dirty banking," 2010) 

Germany’s export credit insurer Euler Hermes AG said on Friday it has guaranteed exports to Iran worth 200 million euros ($235.46 million) since 2016. The programme remains in place for now and companies can still apply guarantees, Hermes said.“ (UPDATE 1-German’s DZ Bank to halt Iran transactions in July,” Reuters, May 18, 2018)

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"German Economy and Energy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Euler Hermes–a leading provider of trade credit insurance–is interested in covering investments in Iran, especially in energy and electricity sectors." (June 28, 2017).

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The Head of Underwriting and Financial Institutions is listed as a speaker for Euler Hermes, at the 3rd Banking and Business Forum Iran-Europe, taking place in Frankfurt Germany from November 16-17, 2016. (Euro Finance Week, Speakers).

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"Iran has signed initial agreements with Germany’s Hermes insurance firm and Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV) to provide cover for transactions with Europe, IRNA news agency says. The Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) signed the agreements in Lisbon on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Bern Union, an association of private and state export credit insurers from around the world, it reported Wednesday. Under the agreement, the Iranian and European sides will cooperate on “exchange of economic, trade and banking information, reinsurance coverage, coinsurance, and training.” IRNA quoted EGFI Managing Director Kamal Seyyed-Ali as saying that European export credit insurers were increasingly interested in financing projects after the lifting of sanctions on Iran." (Press TV,  "Iran signs deals with German, Swiss insurers," 10/26/2016).

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"Western insurers are slowly reaching deals with Iran as they seek to re-enter a multi-billion dollar market although the pace of business is hampered by banking restrictions ten months on from the lifting of international sanctions...European export credit agencies are guaranteeing trade finance for Western companies doing business with Iran. Germany's state run export credit group Hermes has concluded trade finance deals covering goods worth several million euros. "About a dozen transactions have been approved so far," a Hermes spokesman said. "The demand is there from the exporters' side but they need a lot of information. There is a continuous and rising flow of applications (for export credit guarantees)."  (Reuters, "Cautious Western insurers rebuild business ties with Iran," 10/21/2016).

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Euler Hermes is a subsidiary Allianz of Germany.

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"The German Euler Hermes credit institution has agreed to establish a $5 billion credit line for Iran, Mohammad Khazai deputy minister of economy said Saturday. The credit is to be granted over 2-3 years. Hermes had previously guaranteed some loans for Iran but the country was unable to meet its commitments due to the international sanctions and lack of access to SWIFT interbank messaging service. 'We have agreed to pay Hermes over $500 million over the course of one year as soon as the economic sanctions are eased,' Khazai told Fars News Agency... 'We have held some preliminary talks with EKF, Denmark's official export credit agency, the Italian SACE group, the German Euler Hermes and the UK's Export Finance to prepare the grounds for persuading international banks and lending institutions to grant credit to and establish credit lines for Iran.'" (Financial Tribune, "Return of Int’l Credit," 12/27/15) 

The CEO of Sturgeon Capital is listed as a speaker at the 2nd Iranian Trade Conference: New Prospects for British-Iranian Trade and Investments, which took place on November 2, 2016, in London. (2nd Iranian Trade Conference, "Speakers").

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"When Clemente Cappello traveled across Iran in May 2012, the U.S. and European Union had just expanded sanctions against the nation in an effort to push President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to curtail its nuclear program. Just over three years later, the 35-year-old hedge fund manager wants to invest in the country. Sturgeon Capital, which is based in London and oversees $80 million in frontier and emerging markets, is seeking to raise a fund to invest directly in Iran, which could emerge from international sanctions under terms of a nuclear agreement reached in Vienna last week. The potential removal would be a 'game changer,' said Cappello, who set up Sturgeon in 2005 primarily to invest in Central Asia. It means 'you’re someone we can do business with,' he said. The fund could be as much as $30 million by the end of this year and may start investing as early as August." (Bloomberg, "Hedge Fund Eyes Iran as Nuclear Deal Paves Way for Foreign Money," 7/21/2015)

"Iranian-born Xanyar Kamangar, who runs investment and asset management company Griffon Capital, thinks there are huge opportunities in food and drink, pharmaceuticals and technology. 'Iran has natural resources that compare with Russia. It has highly educated, very tech-savvy consumers and 92% of its adult population have bank accounts.'" (BBC, "Iran: Now a Business Opportunity?," 7/14/15)

"'Firms like ours are now starting to check under the hood. There are a lot of assets there that are going to need restructuring,' said AJ Mediratta, co-president at emerging market debt specialist firm Greylock Capital Management in New York." (Reuters, "Foreign Investors Try to Tap into Iran," 7/20/15)

"...Others, like MENA Capital CIO Khaled Abdel Majeed, are also getting ready to invest, but worry that a dedicated country fund carries too many risks at this point. Instead, Majeed is aiming to invest part of his firm's funds under management in Iranian shares - once the sanctions are lifted. 'At the moment it may be very marketable, but at some point it will become too expensive,' he said, adding that the firm was starting its search for suitable local partners in Tehran. 'And there is also a lot of risk in the deal that has been agreed, and the regime itself is not stable enough to last another 50 years.'" (Reuters, "Foreign Investors Try to Tap into Iran," 7/20/15)