Russia’s second-largest bank VTB has opened a branch in Iran, the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced on Twitter on Tuesday.
According to TPO head Alireza Peyman-Pak, VTB is the first ever Russian bank to offer services in the Islamic Republic.
The majority state-owned bank will promote “trade transparency” and play an effective role in transferring part of the foreign exchange earnings to the banking network, Peyman-Pak added in his tweet
The presence of the VTB Bank of Russia will be effective in transferring a part of FOREX revenues from the TRUST network to the banking network system as well as transparency of trade, he emphasized.
The asset value of this Russian bank stands at $285 billion, which accounts for 10 percent of the total asset value of Russia’s banking system.
VTB Bank is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia and its legal address is registered in St Petersburg.
Last December, VTB launched a service allowing both individuals and businesses to transfer money to and from Iran. It was one of the first Russian banks to be excluded from the SWIFT global payments system over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
Russia and Iran have recently started to deepen their economic and energy ties to counter Western sanctions faced by both countries.
