CBI gives go-ahead to Russia’s VTB for opening Tehran branch
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has granted preliminary approval for Russia’s VTB bank to launch a branch in the capital Tehran, board member Olga Basha said, as reported by IRNA.
“The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran has issued preliminary approval for the opening of our branch in Tehran,” Basha said on Friday, stressing that the Tehran branch would initially provide services to Russian and Iranian companies engaged in bilateral trade.
Russia’s second-largest lender has operated a representative office in Tehran since May 2023.
The office would also handle trade finance, export operations and settlement mechanisms, including cross-border payments in national currencies, she added.
Basha said the bank had completed the initial steps in establishing the branch and was continuing the next stages.
“We are establishing the necessary contacts, shaping the right chain of interaction, and studying all the legal subtleties in the process of VTB’s operations in Iran,” she said.
Basha declined to give forecasts about the future of the branch but added, “We see good prospects.”
Earlier, in response to a question from IRNA, Basha said the representative office was viewed “as a gateway to enter the Iranian market” and that the model had so far fully met the needs of the bank’s customers and partners.
Basha also said VTB was studying the Iranian market and exploring options for conducting foreign transactions between Russian and Iranian companies in national currencies, using the bank’s central infrastructure.