* Banks want `maximum certainty' before returning to Iran
* Republican opposition to nuclear deal adds to hesitation
European companies flocking back to Iran are doing so without their favored lenders at their side.
Less than two years after BNP Paribas SA agreed to pay a record $9 billion U.S. fine in part for dealings with Iran, many of the continent’s biggest banks remain unwilling to go anywhere near Iran-related business for fear that they will run afoul of remaining U.S. sanctions on the country. That’s opened the way for Chinese and Persian Gulf lenders, as well as European institutions such as Belgium’s KBC Groep NV, to grab a slice of the business of funding companies’ investments in Iran.
The reluctance adds a complication for manufacturers from Airbus Group SE to PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot cars, as they seek to capitalize on growth in Iran. The funding issue has become a financial diplomacy hot-spot. In France, the government, worried that companies may lose exports, has started talks with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to get a commitment that banks can do business without incurring legal woes, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Iran has a long history of financially supporting terror groups that target Western interests. As long as Iran refuses to cut this funding and support, institutions that do business with Iran will always be exposed liability claims and worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment