Iran’s CBI pushing for international banking reintegration: CNBC report

According to the US television network, the governor of CBI, Valiollah Seif, has told the channel about his recent meeting with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the policy-making body of the international financial system, in Paris, France.

Seif said FATF representatives "were surprised by the steps taken by the Iranian banks and financial institutions," and "that they were not aware of the changes we have made in our banking sector."

The report said the CBI chief’s efforts were meant to take Iran off a FATF blacklist that alleged its support for terrorism.

It said the country’s move to get off the list is probably due to issues it faces accessing overseas money owed to Tehran.

Seif expressed confidence that Iranian banks would be removed from the blacklist, though he did not give a timeframe.

FATF confirmed a recent meeting but declined to comment on its content or the tone, CBNC noted.

Last month, the head of CBI called on the United States to feel responsible for banking ambiguities impeding Iran’s access to European Union (EU) financial institutions.

Seif, who had traveled to the US in April to participate in the spring convention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told the official IRNA news agency that America needed to act in lockstep with the Last July nuclear agreement which envisaged Iran’s access to international financial transaction.

He warned that failure to do more to integrate Iranian banks into the global economy could jeopardize the nuclear agreement.

KD