Wednesday, August 22 2012 19:01
Central Bank sees no reasons to stop Mellat Bank's activity in Armenia
ArmInfo. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) sees no reasons to stop the activity of the subsidiary of Mellat Bank (Iran) in Armenia, Daniel Azatyan, Head of the CBA Financial Monitoring Center, said at a briefing on August 22.
To note, on August 21 Reuters Agency published an article which reads: "With international sanctions squeezing Iran, the Islamic Republic is seeking to expand its banking foothold in the Caucasus nation of Armenia to make up for difficulties in countries it used to rely on to do business, according to diplomats and documents: Iran's growing interest in its neighbor Armenia, a mountainous, landlocked country of about 3.3 million people, comes at a time of rising international isolation for Tehran and increasing scrutiny by Western governments and intelligence agencies of Iranian banking ties worldwide as they attempt to stifle the country's nuclear program. Washington recently raised its concerns with Armenian officials about the possibility that Iran could exploit Armenia to bypass sanctions. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the issue with President Serzh Sargsyan during a June meeting in Yerevan, a senior State Department official said."
Azatyan said that the financial indices of Mellat Bank do not allow the CBA to say that there are any legal grounds to stop the Bank's activity. "It is a different thing that the shareholders may take such a decision, but I do not think that this will happen, because there are no obstacles for the Bank's activity in Armenia", he said. However, Azatyan added that in order to have an opportunity to work with foreign partners, the Armenian banks had to stop their correspondent relations with this Bank, as the EU countries and the United States demand that the banks and their partners should not work with Mellat Bank.
"Armenia often has to discuss the "Iranian factor" with various international structures", however, our foreign partners understand that the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran needs to be served financially", he said.
He said that Mellat Bank used to actively support the development of Armenian-Iranian economic relations, but at the moment it is one of the few banks that make the smallest number of transactions. According to the Central Bank's data, from 31 December 2010 till 1 July 2012 the assets of Mellat Bank declined over twofold - from $88 mln to $40 mln.
The Bank has no correspondent accounts in European, American or Armenian banks. Mellat Bank is the only bank in Armenia with Iranian capital. At present, Mellat Bank is working with its parent bank in Tehran and serves trade transactions between Armenia and Tehran. The Bank has been operating in Armenia since 1996. Its customers are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in foreign trade relations between Armenia and Iran, as well as tourists and students.
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