�VTB Bank, the second largest bank in Russia, has opened an office in the Islamic Republic of Iran as the two neighboring countries seek to further connect�their�interbank communication and transfer systems in the face of Western sanctions.






Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Ali-Reza Peymanpak announced the opening in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

VTB Bank is the first Russian bank to be directly represented in Iran, according to Peymanpak, who added that the presence of VTB staff in Tehran would help boost transparency in Iran's international banking relations.

He said that VTB's presence in Tehran would also enable Iranian businesses to transfer their funds from the so-called trust networks to the banking system.

According to experts, with the bank being present in Iran, the time needed to process banking transactions for Iranian companies will decrease to less than 24 hours.

They say VTB's office in Iran will provide Iranian businesses with easier access to banking systems in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In Europe, VTB Bank and its subsidiaries�are active in Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Sweden.

Earlier this year, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammadreza Farzin said a direct link had been established between the central banks of Iran and Russia.

Farzin said on January 30 that the channel between Iran and the rest of the globe is being restored, adding�that the Iranian banking network will also have a direct connection with�106 other foreign banks.

Following the signing of an agreement between the two central banks on the same day, the CBI declared that the electronic financial messaging systems of Iran, known as SEPAM domestically, and the Bank of Russia, known as SPFS, were linked.