London– Sky News has learnt that the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has agreed to form a working group to examine the implications of the sanctions move.
Sources said that many British Bankers’ Association (BBA) members, which include UK-headquartered and international banks with operations in Britain, had expressed unease about forging closer ties with Iran.
Jes Staley, the Barclays chief executive, responded to a letter from David Cameron earlier this year on the issue in which he referred to “the considerable divergence in both approach and intention between the EU, which is taking a positive approach towards Iran, and the US, where primary sanctions remain in place, thereby prohibiting US individuals or entities from engaging directly or indirectly in business related to Iran”.
The Prime Minister had accused Barclays of operating “in opposition to the policy of the UK Government” by declining to process customers’ payments from Iranian entities.
The anxiety among some London-based bankers stems from both US lenders and American executives who work for British and other international companies.
Banks including Standard Chartered have been fined heavily for sanctions breaches in recent years.
 
 

Source: Sky News, 28 APRIL 2016