Russia’s second-largest and majority state-owned VTB Bank has opened up a representative office in Iran as the two neighboring countries seek to further connect their interbank communication and transfer systems in the face of Western sanctions.
Chairman of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Alireza Peyman-Pak made the announcement in a post published on his Twitter page on Wednesday.
With the official start of VTB Bank activities in Iran, conditions will be favorably provided for the low-cost and safe access of Iranian entrepreneurs and businessmen to the banking systems of many European, African and Asian states.
Iranian companies will now have the chance to make international bank transfers. Moreover, VTB Bank and its subsidiaries are extensively active in South American countries, empowering Iran to diversify its exchange routes with export target countries in that region.
The Russian bank has lately expanded its activities in China, South Africa, Venezuela and member countries of the Arab League, offering Iranian banks and companies to the banking network of those countries.
In Europe, VTB Bank and its subsidiaries are active in Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Sweden.
Earlier this year, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammadreza Farzin said a direct link had been established between the central banks of Iran and Russia.
Farzin said on January 30 that the channel between Iran and the rest of the globe is being restored, adding that the Iranian banking network will also have a direct connection with 106 other foreign banks.
Following the signing of an agreement between the two central banks on the same day, the CBI declared that the electronic financial messaging systems of Iran, known as SEPAM domestically, and the Bank of Russia, known as SPFS, were linked.
