The head of Middle East Bank, Iran�s privately-owned bank, said European investment funds are regularly visiting his Tehran offices to express interest in investing in the country once sanctions are lifted.

The bank has received groups of investors on a weekly basis since negotiators announced a framework to a final nuclear deal in Switzerland on April 2, Parviz Aghili, the bank�s managing director, said in an interview with Bloomberg in Tehran, without giving details on which institutions have visited.

Diplomats have until June 30 to finalize an agreement which would limit Iran�s nuclear energy program and in return lift sanctions on the country�s economy. The Islamic Republic expects such an accord will spur foreign investment and reconnect it to international markets.

Aghili said private equity funds and small investors would most probably be first to make substantial investments in Iran, rather than �first-rate international� banks.
Middle East Bank, which was formed two and a half years ago, made a net profit of approximately $30 million in the last Iranian year (March 2014 to March 2015) representing a 10 percent increase in earnings compared to the previous year, Aghili said.

By Financial Tribune