Tehran, Iran, Aug. 4
By Temkin Jafarov, Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Two Iranian private banks - "Parsian" and "Pasargad" are interested in opening branches in Azerbaijan, the head of the secretariat of the Azerbaijani-Iranian intergovernmental commission on cooperation in trade, economic and humanitarian spheres Mehdi Mohtashami told Trend in an exclusive interview.
"These banks have announced their readiness to fulfill all the necessary conditions to carry out activities on the territory of Azerbaijan," said Mohtashami.
To date, one Iranian bank Bank Melli Iran operates in the banking market of Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan and Iran have long existing cooperation in the banking sector," said the head of the secretariat. "Unfortunately, the problems caused by the sanctions imposed on the country, restricted the activities of our banks in Azerbaijan. We want that activity of the Baku branch of "Bank Melli Iran" to be carried out in all directions, and we hope that Azerbaijan will assist in this."
He said that Azerbaijan and Iran are also interested in establishing a joint bank.
"Moreover, Iran is interested in opening of Azerbaijani banks' branches on its territory and in establishing of brokerage relations with them," he said.
"We would like one or more Azerbaijani banks to open their branches in Iran," he said. "I think that an increase in trade turnover between the two countries will create an opportunity of the banks' integration on the markets of both countries. To establish brokerage relations with Azerbaijani banks is also very important."
Mohtashami said that after the Western sanctions against Iran are lifted, the Azerbaijani banking system will expand the opportunities for cooperation with Iran.
"If the banks of both countries are active and reliable, this will also have an impact on the development of relations in other spheres," he said.
Iran and "Six" international mediators (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) completed working out the agreements on the settlement of the nuclear problem of the Islamic Republic on July 14.
As a result, a joint comprehensive action plan, consisting of a main document and five technical annexes, was coordinated.
The number of banks operating in Azerbaijan and Iran is 43 and 28, respectively.
Parsian Bank is a major Iranian private bank, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. Founded in February 2002, the bank now has 288 branches across Iran, 159 of which are in Tehran.
Bank Pasargad, also known as BPI, is a major Iranian banking establishment offering retail, commercial and investment banking services. The company was established in 2005. A total of 297 branches of the bank operate in Iran.
Bank Melli Iran is the first national Iranian bank. The bank was established in 1927 by the order of the Majlis (Iranian parliament) and since then has consistently been one of the most influential Iranian banks.
Bank Melli Iran is now the largest commercial retail bank in Iran and in the Middle East with over 3,300 branches and 43,000 employees. Bank Melli Iran has 18 international branches and services in 11 countries. The bank's Baku branch was founded in 1993.
Edited by CN
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