Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank

Iran Venezuela Bi-National Bank
Company typeJV
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
FoundersMahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chávez[1]
Headquarters
Tehran
,
Iran[2]
Number of locations
1[2]
Key people
Mohammad Ghazaei Pakdehi
(CEO)
Revenue
  • Decrease Rls.623,269,892,975 (2016–17)
  • Rls.715,955,207,800 (2015–16)
  • Decrease Rls.363,021,917,597 (2016–17)
  • Rls.380,171,634,554 (2015–16)
Total assets
  • Decrease Rls.7,135,105,938,521 (2016–17)
  • Rls.32,365,508,413,721 (2015–16)
Owner
Number of employees
  • Decrease 79 (2016–17)
  • 82 (2015–16)
Websiteivbb.ir
Footnotes / references
Annual Report Fiscal Year (2016–2017)[3]

Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank (Persian: بانک مشترک ایران و ونزوئلا, Bank Moshtarek-e Iran vâ Vânuzuilâ, Spanish: Banco Binacional Irán-Venezuela) is an international financial institution that was founded in 2010 with an aim to develop commercial ties between Iran and Venezuela.[1]

Out of the 40 banks legally licensed to operate in Iran, the Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank is one of the only five foreign banks to make that list.[4] In 2024 the bank was targeted in a cyberattack by IRLeaks.[5]

History

It started as a joint venture between two state-owned banks, Banco Industrial de Venezuela and Export Development Bank of Iran with a starting capital of $200 million offered equally by both parties.[2]

In September 2013, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanction on the bank.[6] In 2015, an official in the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran told press that "[the] bank is not given much freedom" and it is being managed one-sidedly by Iran, because the Venezuelan side does not participate in the general assemblies.[7] By 2016, the Iranian side was willing to sell its share.[8] In 2018, the US reimposed sanctions on the bank.[9]

In July 2020, Iran officials announced the Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank would enter the Tehran Stock Exchange by March 2021 (17% to be floated on the stock market).[10]

In 2024, the Iran-Venezuela Bi-National Bank was attacked in a cyberattack by IRLeaks, which affected 20 Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran. Politico referred to it as the "worst attack" in Iran's history.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Bailey, Norman A. (February 2012). "Iran's Venezuelan Gateway" (PDF). Iran Strategy Brief (5).
  2. ^ a b c "5 Foreign Banks Licensed by Iran". Financial Tribune. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  3. ^ "Annual Report Fiscal Year (2016-2017)" (PDF). Iran Venezuela Bi-National Bank.
  4. ^ "5 Foreign Banks Licensed by Iran". Financial Tribune. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  5. ^ "Iran pays millions in ransom to end massive cyberattack on banks, officials say". POLITICO. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  6. ^ Gardner, Timothy. "U.S. blacklists firms for evading Iran oil sale sanctions". U.S. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  7. ^ "Joint Iran-Venezuela bank not much of a bank: Iran". Trend.Az. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  8. ^ "Iran to Sell Shares in Joint Bank With Venezuela". Financial Tribune. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  9. ^ White; Burke, Case LLP-Richard; Erb, Nicole; DeLelle, Claire A.; Zissis, Kristina; Brayton-Lewis, Cristina; S; Jorgensen, ra; Spicer, Margaret. "United States Fully Re-imposes Iran Sanctions and Expands Designations | Lexology". www.lexology.com. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  10. ^ "Iran Venezuela Bi-National Bank to be listed on stock exchange". Tehran Times. 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  11. ^ "Iran pays millions in ransom to end massive cyberattack on banks, officials say". POLITICO. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2024-09-09.