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BSI overseas activity started with Hamburg Branch in Germany in 1962 and now it has the largest International Foreign Network in Iran,

International Banking

Bank Saderat Iran has the largest International Foreign network among all Iranian banks, having 21 Branches, 3 Regional Offices, 2 Independent Banks, and 3 Joint Venture Banks as follows:

The total number of staff working at overseas branches and offices is 777, of whom 701 were local and 76 were dispatched.
BSI overseas branches are now engaging in all kinds of banking activities such as granting various banking facilities, opening L/Cs, issuing letter of guarantees, and money transfers. All follow anti-money laundering and Basel II regulations according to their homeland banking rules.
BSI overseas branches take full advantage of their potential with respect to the following factors:

• A wide variety of banking services and facilities tailored to customers’ needs
• Well-designed regulated system
• Quick decision-making
• Flexibility in the bank’s policy-makings considering the change in economic conditions and international financial markets

It is notable that total profit earned by the overseas network rose to USD 217 million by the end of 2010, an increase of 7% compared with the preceding year.
The operations of some major BSI overseas units are as follows:

Bank Saderat PLC, London

Bank Saderat PLC London achieved a very creditable post–tax profit of EUR 10.5m, compared with EUR 16.3m for the previous year. This represents a post–tax return on equity of 6.5% compared with 10.1% in 2009.The reason for the reduction in profit and return of equity is as follows:

The directors were able to pay dividends totaling EUR 12m in 2010 (comprising a final dividend of EUR 9m for 2009 and an interim dividend of EUR 3m for 2010). A further dividend of EUR 6.0m, to be paid in 2011, is to be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

A provision of EUR 655k equivalent was raised during the year under review against funds that have been blocked for the past ten years. At the end of 2010, provisions against impaired loans totaled EUR 4k. Also during 2010, the general banking risk reserve was increased from EUR 2.5m to EUR 5.0m to enhance the regulatory capital base.

The core business of the Bank remained unchanged, namely the financing of trade to and from Iran, and the provision of loans to selected corporate borrowers, with the commercial assets of the Bank being predominantly Iranian risk.

Bank Saderat PLC, a UK Bank, complies fully with FSA regulations with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations, with international banking practices and standards, and with the laws of England and Wales.

In order to mitigate sanction risks, Bank Saderat PLC embarked on a programme of asset reduction in 2010. By mid-2010, assets have been reduced to a little over EUR 300m from a level of EUR 648m at the end of 2009.

Since the imposition of EU sanctions, Bank Saderat PLC has not been permitted to undertake new business and as a result it has taken action to reduce its overheads to a level consistent with its objective of being ready to re-launch its operations as soon as it is permitted to do so.
Notwithstanding the current situation, the Bank maintains high levels of liquidity and is confident that it will continue to meet all regulatory requirements in full.

BSI Paris Branch

After the imposed E.U sanction on 26 July, 2010, BSI Paris, like other BSI European branches, encountered a wide restrictions on the freezing of funds, economic resources and banking activities.

Despite those restrictions at year 2010, the BSI Paris posted higher profit than the preceding year.
The achieved post-tax profit on December 2010 was EURO 7.12 M that exceeded more than 16.7% higher than the preceding year’s profit and the post-tax return on equity was 19.6%.

It is notable that in 2010 the BSI Paris has been independent from the refinancing sources and has not benefited from 1% difference in its interest rate.
In year 2010 the bank’s total expenses have been reduced by EURO 5.2 M in comparison with total income that has been reduced by EURO 4.3 M.
Total assets on 31 December 2010 were EURO 206.9 M compared to EURO 357.3 M on 31 December 2009.

Furthermore, the maturities of operational assets have been matched to those of the deposits (about EURO 200 M) and also their rights have been assigned to Head Office to cover the repayments and to meet the branch commitments. Moreover, the risks of about EURO 8.7 M of guarantee issued by the branch have been removed.

BSI Branches in the U.A.E

Bank Saderat Iran established its first branch in the UAE in 1968. We are one of the largest retail and commercial banks in the UAE. We have 8 branches across the UAE which are very active and customer oriented with the focus on Trade Finance.
Based on the latest published information by Emirates Banks Association of the United Arab Emirates, we are ranked 2nd in terms of Net Profit among all the foreign banks in the UAE.
We have our Regional Office in Dubai with four branches in Dubai, and the other four branches located in Sharjah, Al Ain, Ajman and Abu Dhabi. We offer specialized banking services to our wide range of customers and offer various services in Trade Finance.

We operate under the guidelines of the Central Bank of the UAE. The management strongly believes that our real Assets are our Staff. We capitalize on our Human Resources, and give high priority to professional trainings.

Our strategy in the UAE is to facilitate the trade between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Arab Emirates; therefore, in line with our strategy we have focused on Trade Finance business.
The main objective of the Bank is to increase the shareholders value and to satisfy the customers’ needs under sound and clear policies.

Operational and Financial Review

As per the data released by Emirates Banks Association, our performance in the following major ratios is well above the average of all foreign banks across the UAE.

Despite global economic slowdown in the region, the Net profit before tax grew from AED 552 million in 2009 to AED 628 million in 2010, reflecting a growth of AED 76 million. The sustained growth in profit in current business environment has been due to concentration in our core banking business of trade finance. Due to prudent management of our balance sheet we have seen an increase in net interest Income. The net interest Income grew from AED 632 million in 2009 to AED 695 million in 2010, reflecting a growth of 10%.

In 2009 the total Assets of the bank was AED 16.3 billion and in 2010 it reached AED 21 billion reflecting an increase of about 28%, and the Return on Asset of 2.8%, which is well above the average of foreign banks’ ratio across the UAE.

In view of robust and sustainable profit growth contributing to retained earnings at the year end of 2010, the Owners’ equity increased from AED 1.7 billion in 2009 to AED 2.2 billion in 2010. Our Return on Equity ratio grew from 32.15% in 2009 to 35.4% in 2010.

The management of the bank has been able to conduct a successful Capital Management by maintaining a perfect balance in Asset growth while efficiently maintaining the required Capital Adequacy.