Central Bank of Iran Signs “Unlimited” Finance Deal with Eximbank of Russia
On December 26, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) reportedly announced that four Iranian banks had signed an unlimited finance deal with the Eximbank of Russia. This comes several months after CBI signed a separate agreement with the Export Insurance Agency of Russia facilitating the involvement of Russian banks in major Iranian “development” projects. The four Iranian banks involved in the latest finance deal are: Bank Sepah, the Export Development Bank of Iran, Bank Parsian and Bank Pasargad.
Although the precise terms of the financing deal are unknown, the use of such terms as “unlimited” and “without a ceiling” seems significant. Even if these terms are being used somewhat imprecisely, they are suggestive of the closeness of the two countries. The agreement was reportedly signed on December 26 in Moscow and was described as enabling Iran’s public and private sectors to receive financing as well as Russian exporters seeking to deliver technical and engineering services to Iran.