Iranian bank Pasargad willing to invest in Europe

Many Iranian banks have created a roadmap to open up to the world after the country recently regained its financial freedom with the lifting of sanctions linked to its nuclear program - a move that freed $100 billion in frozen assets overseas. Bank Pasargad, the second-largest finance company of Iran with billions of dollars of blocked assets in many countries worldwide, is one of them.

According to Mostafa Beheshtirooy, a member of the executive board at Bank Pasargad, the bank has started conducting research into Turkey, Germany, Spain and China, adding that "We can work with a local partner or take over a bank by incorporating it into our structure." Beheshtirooy said that, despite the negative impacts of the rising dollar and falling oil prices, the bank's total assets will reach $70 billion; in stark contrast to the current $19 billion it holds. Bank Pasargad is the 11th-largest institution in Iran in terms of the number of shares being traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In financial terms, it is the second-largest after Bank Mellat. Founded in 2005, the bank was named after Pasargad, which was the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire in southern Iran. In 2013 it ranked 257th in Banker magazine and currently employs nearly 4,000 staff at a total of 327 branches.

Touching on Iran's banking system, Beheshtirooy said that the country has six state-run banks and 19 private banks across the country, with assets exceeding $580 billion. This figure is around $800 billion in Turkey, he said, adding that Iran is the third-largest country after Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region in terms of bank assets. "Iranian banks have immense growth potential," Beheshtirooy stressed. If Bank Pasargad's global project is realized, it will become the second Iranian bank to operate in Turkey after Bank Mellat, which began its Turkish operations in 1981. Bank Mellat, which currently has branches in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir, reported its assets at TL 325 million ($108.72 million) in March 2015.

Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with the 500 wealthiest Italian businessmen at a conference as part of his European tour. Iran signed a protocol worth $4 billion with the Italian infrastructure company Condotte d'Acqua, and is gearing up for another agreement worth up to 5 billion euros with Italian steel company, Danieli.

During his European tour, President Rouhani will also visit France where he is expected to hold a one-on-one meeting with Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of French oil giant Total. Iran also plans to sign an agreement for the purchase of 160 French Airbus planes; a project worth an estimated $1.1 billion.