Some German banks back Iran despite US threats

TEHRAN, May 23 (MNA) – Six credit unions in southern Germany are still processing payments to Iran, undaunted by the threats of Trump’s administration against Iran. Although major banks of Germany are avoiding Iran-related deals for fear of US, six credit unions, or Volksbanken, from southern Germany appear to be unafraid and are continuing to provide trade finance, Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday. Basically, as long as companies and banks stick to the requirements and regulations of the current export controls of the EU and the US, nothing can happen to them, said Patrizia Melfi, head of the International Competence Center, which was set up by the banks to handle foreign business. These unions include Volksbank am Württemberg, Pforzheim, Heilbronn, Konstanz, Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar and Vereinigte Volksbank. Melfi went on to say that her network could continue to settle transactions, even if the interbank messaging service SWIFT, which is used to transfer trillions of dollars between banks every day, were to stop transferring money to and from Iran. “We could maintain payments even without SWIFT and with the help of the Bundesbank,” she said, referring to the German central bank.