FINANCE - Turkish Bank in Spotlight for Iran Deals as Sanctions Tighten

www.wsj.com - ISTANBUL—Amid tightening U.S. and European Union sanctions against Iran, almost all of Turkey's banks have stopped handling trade deals with the Islamic Republic, leaving one Turkish lender to rake in all that business: state-owned Halkbank.

Washington passed sanctions in January threatening to penalize financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, forcing Turkey's private lenders to halt transactions with Tehran for fear of being frozen out of international markets. U.S. Treasury officials visited Turkey several times last year to advise financial institutions that doing business with proscribed Iranian entities runs the risk of being frozen out of the U.S. financial system. (source)

FINANCE - OIC - Turkey's Halkbank to handle Iran payments so long as legal

www.todayszaman.com - Turkish lender Halkbank will continue to handle customers' oil payments to Iran as long as they comply with international regulations, the bank's general manager said in the wake of fresh, unilateral US and EU sanctions.

Halkbank's dealings with Iran drew attention last year when Indian refiners disclosed they were channeling oil payments through the Turkish bank as their own central bank had shut its payment facility, fearing US retribution.

Majority state-owned Halkbank is Turkey's sixth largest bank, based on unconsolidated assets, and has a representative office in Tehran. (source)

FINANCE - Turkey, Iran eye closer financial transfers

Turkey and Iran said on Thursday they want to increase financial transfers between the two countries and double bilateral trade by 2015, a move likely to trouble Western powers trying to squeeze Tehran with sanctions over its nuclear programme.     

Washington, which has approved a fresh set of sanctions targeting financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank to stem the flow of oil revenues, has warned regional ally Turkey that banks which do business with Iranian entities run the risk of being frozen out of the US financial system.     (source)

BANKING - Turkey's Halkbank says not received call to halt Iran deals

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Turkey's Halkbank has received no official request to stop handling payments to Iran for oil transactions but is studying U.S. moves to choke off the Islamic Republic's revenue, Turkish daily Vatan reported on Wednesday, citing its general manager.

On Dec. 31, President Barack Obama signed into law a fresh set of sanctions targeting financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank to stem the flow of oil revenue and persuade Tehran to abandon a suspected nuclear weapons programme. (source)

BANKING - Iran dealings put Turkey's Halkbank in spotlight

ISTANBUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Turkish lender Halkbank , little known outside Turkey, has gained a reputation in the oil market over the past 18 months for handling transactions that other banks fear to touch - trade deals with Iran.

Now a new law signed by President Barack Obama last Saturday, which imposes U.S. sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, has put the bank squarely in the spotlight. (source)

FINANCE - Local lender mediates for Indian debt to Iran

The debt crisis between Iran and India, which was caused by the US sanctions on the Islamic republic, has been resolved by the support of Turkey’s state-run Halkbank, the lender’s executives confirm. Separate reports by the Iranian media say that Turkey, Iran and Iraq have reached a consensus to found a joint bank based in Tehran.  (source)