Iran, India May Open Private Banks to Help Trade, Fars Reports

Iranian and Indian private banks may open branches in each other’s countries in the near future to facilitate trade, Fars reported, citing Mehdi Nabizadeh, Tehran’s ambassador to New Delhi

Nabizadeh didn’t identify the banks, the state-run news agency said. The news service also didn’t say if the moves were intended to facilitate payments from India for oil imports from Iran.

India cleared months of overdue debt to Iran earlier this month when it paid the Persian Gulf country $5 billion for oil shipments. Indian refiners said banks were unwilling to transfer payments for oil purchases because of international sanctions against Iran over the country’s nuclear program.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net.