Pressed by US, European Banks Limit Iran Deals

[One Honest Guy]

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: May 22, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 21 — Prodded by the United States with threats of fines and lost business, four of the biggest European banks have started curbing their activities in Iran, even in the absence of a Security Council resolution imposing economic sanctions on Iran for its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Top Treasury and State Department officials have intensified their efforts to limit Iran-related activities of major banks in Europe, the United States and the Middle East in the past six months, invoking antiterrorism and banking laws. They have also traveled to Europe and the Middle East to drive home the risky nature of dealing with a country that has repeatedly rebuffed Western demands over suspending uranium enrichment, and to urge European countries to take similar steps.

The four European banks — the UBS and Credit Suisse banks of Switzerland, ABN Amro of the Netherlands, and HSBC, based in London — have made varying levels of disclosure about the limits on their activities in Iran in the past six months. Almost all large European banks have branches or bureaus in the United States, units that are subject to American laws.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/world/middleeast/22iran.html?hp&ex=1148270400&en=e22928431f7ecbe3&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[bemildred]

1. This sounds like 100% drivel.

They are going to limit "Iran-related activities". No more Shirin Gaz in the office kitchen.

[enid602]

2. dollar diplomacy

Gunboat diplomacy can only work for so long. Maybe this is why oil bourses are planned for Teheran, Moscow and Caracas.

[HuffleClaw]

3. hmmmmm

why are they grovelling before bush demands? they'd be better off simply announcing that in response they are stopping all their buying of US treasury bonds (or whatever they are called). that would shut bush up in about five seconds.

[Robbien]

4. They do it because we fine them if they don't

from the article:

The American prodding has not yet resulted in any fines or other punishment. But UBS and ABN Amro are no strangers to the sting of American financial penalties for dealing with countries that the United States has wanted to isolate. UBS was fined $100 million by the Federal Reserve two years ago for the unauthorized movement of dollars to Iran and other countries like Libya and Yugoslavia, which were subject to American trade sanctions at the time. Last December, ABN Amro was fined $80 million for failure to comply with regulations against money laundering and with economic sanctions against Libya and Iran from 1997 to 2004.

[Nihil]

5. And in response ...

... they should dump US Bonds to raise the money for the "fine" ...
by doing it publicly, the message should get home ...