DJ No Iranian Asset Move To Switzerland On Sanctions - Banks
the good old days of the gold standard.
Switzerland not the refuge it once was for the nazi's eh?
GENEVA (AP)--Iran is unlikely to shift its assets from elsewhere in Europe to Swiss banks if faced with U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program, Swiss banking officials said Wednesday.
"It's more the contrary," said Pierre Mirabaud, president of the Swiss Bankers Association.
Mirabaud said some Swiss banks announced last month that they would no longer accept official Iranian deposits. hold up I thought they were NUETRAL?
"It does not mean that the Swiss banking sector will not deal with Swiss banking clients who have a long-standing relationship with our country and have nothing to do with one specific regime," Mirabaud said.
But, he added: "I am not aware of massive Iranian deposits coming to Switzerland. On the contrary, the announcements that were made in the last month show that some banks...have decided to ask some clients to leave the bank."
Mirabaud didn't name the institutions that have announced curbs on Iranian deposits, but he noted that the banks "are very much active in America" even though that "may be a coincidence."
U.S. regulators keep a close eye on the activities of foreign banks with operations in the U.S.
Last month, Switzerland's largest bank, UBS AG (UBS), said it would no longer deal with individuals, companies or state institutions in Iran or Syria because of the company's economic and risk analysis.
Credit Suisse Group (CSR), Switzerland's second largest bank, also stopped new business with Iran and Syria, but left unchanged current business relations its clients have in those countries.
James Nason, a spokesman for the bankers association, said: "If the U.N. were to declare sanctions, the money here would probably be frozen with a speed and efficiency greater than any other international financial center. So a country would probably not have any advantage by trying to escape U.N. sanctions by bringing its assets to Switzerland. There would be no advantage at all."
After initially announcing in January that it had begun pulling its assets out of European banks, Iran denied that it was withdrawing its foreign currency reserves abroad.
Estimates put Iranian funds in Europe at up to $50 billion.
The issue arose after Iran removed some U.N. seals from its main uranium enrichment facility Jan. 10 and resumed research on nuclear fuel, including small-scale enrichment, after a 2 1/2-year freeze.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 08, 2006 11:46 ET (16:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 11 46 AM EST 02-08-06 |
