Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA (BCP)

--

Conducts business in Iran and with U.S banks. (Avi Jorisch, "Iran's dirty banking," 2010)  (http://redcellig.com/media/Irans_Dirty_Banking.pdf)

"Swiss lender Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP) has suspended new transactions with Iran and is winding down activities with the country after U.S. President Donald Trump’s pullout from the nuclear deal with Tehran, the bank said on Tuesday. “We have suspended any new transaction related to Iran after May 8, 2018 and started the ‘wind down period’ within the framework of OFAC announcement,” the bank said in a emailed statement to Reuters, referring to the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions enforcement arm." (May 29, 2018). (https://www.reuters.com/article/switzerland-iran-bcp/swiss-bank-bcp-says-halts-all-new-business-with-iran-idUSL5N1T03C8)

“As part of talks in Geneva over the nuclear question, Tehran is pressing world powers to speed up trade finance arrangements on humanitarian deals involving both Western and Iranian banks, according to an Iranian government document seen by Reuters and sources familiar with the initiative. Iranian government officials and international trade sources say Tehran wants to simplify complex trade finance arrangements potentially worth billions of dollars, which would alleviate pressure on the country's sanctioned banking system…Iranian government officials said the document, which has been sent to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, tasked with safeguarding Tehran's interests, listed the following banks as ‘available for further actions’: Standard Chartered Bank (London), Societe Generale (Paris), Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP) (Geneva), UniCredit Bank (Munich), Commerzbank (Frankfurt), United Bank (Zurich) and BHF Bank (Frankfurt). It was not clear whether these banks had been approached to provide finance. Two business executives familiar with the initiative said they were aware that Standard Chartered, Societe Generale, Commerzbank were among those on the wish list. Commerzbank, Societe Generale, United Bank and BCP all declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Standard Chartered said the bank was not involved and would not get involved in any transaction with any party from Iran.” (Reuters, “Western banks cold-shoulder Iran trade finance scheme,” 3/13/14) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/standard-chartered-bank) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/societe-generale) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/unicredit-bank) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/commerzbank) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/bhf-bank) (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-iran-trade-banks-idUSBREA2C1DX20140313)

“The $4.2 billion in unfrozen oil revenue was the biggest single gain in a package of sanctions relief worth around $7 billion for Iran, according to U.S. officials. In exchange, Iran agreed to curtail some of the most dangerous elements of its nuclear program. Iran insists its pursuits are for purely peaceful purposes such as producing energy and medical research…On Feb. 3, the first payment of $550 million in unfrozen oil revenue was transferred from a Japanese bank to Banque de Commerce et de Placements, or BCP, in Switzerland. As of Wednesday, the funds hadn't been withdrawn. A BCP spokesman declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Swiss Economic Affairs department, Marie Avet, confirmed the money had come to a Swiss bank. Switzerland, which hosted the talks that produced November's accord, had been asked to help facilitate the repatriation of funds, she said.” (Wall Street Jouranl, “Iran Can't Withdraw Much Oil Revenue Under Interim Nuclear Deal,” 4/6/14) (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579485231513658774?mg=reno64-wsj)

Jan 2018 - Some banks such as Bank Muscat have returned to the Iranian market, but in Europe, only small privately ­owned institutions are handling banking transactions with Iran. These include DZ Bank (Germany), Erste Group Bank (Austria), Banque Wormser (France), BCP bank (Switzerland), and EIH Bank (Germany). Many of the banks have pre­existing links to Iran, such as a major shareholder or branches in the country. (https://fichtelegal.com/news/major-banks-iran-business/)

Iranian private lender, Bank Sina, has opened an account in Switzerland’s BCP, which allows Sina to transfer euro and Swiss franc. According to a press release released on Sina’s website on Saturday, the bank is also ready to issue letters of credit and receive finance from the Swiss lender. (Financial Tribune, "BCP-Sina Bank Tie-Up" 12/4/2016) (https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-business-and-markets/54626/bcp-sina-bank-tie-up)