BaFin revokes license and orders liquidation of Bank Saderat Hamburg
BaFin Liquidates Bank Saderat in Hamburg Following License Revocation
Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, reported on Thursday, October 22, that it revoked the banking license of Bank Saderat Iran’s Hamburg branch and ordered its liquidation in the wake of sanctions. The institution held €62.4 million ($70.16 million) in assets and employed 13 people at the time of the closure.
The regulatory action follows an earlier revocation last year, when BaFin found that the branch had violated legal requirements and failed to fix identified shortcomings. A Hamburg court appointed a liquidator for the bank last month, according to BaFin, which noted that the institution is no longer permitted to conduct banking business. This step marks the latest action on an Iranian bank after BaFin’s insolvency declaration for Bank Sepah’s German branch in September.
Lebanon and International Pressure on Iranian Lenders
While German authorities wound down Bank Saderat’s operations in Hamburg, Lebanon took parallel steps to remove the lender from its domestic jurisdiction. Lebanon revoked Bank Saderat’s local authorization this week to protect its financial system from contamination risks. Governor Karim Souaid stated from the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok that Lebanon cannot sustain such risks, linking the decision to broader regional tightening by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey under increased U.S. pressure.
Souaid framed Lebanon’s policy shift as an effort to exit the Financial Action Task Force gray list and meet unwritten expectations from the IMF and international donors for a clean financial sector. The central bank in Beirut has engaged a U.S. specialist firm to map its cash economy and monitor suspicious activity as part of these reforms. Meanwhile, United Kingdom officials announced last month that they would reject new license applications by Iranian banks under U.S. sanctions, including Bank Saderat, whose office is located close to the Bank of England in the City of London.
Wow, that's a bombshell. Bank Saderat is (as far as I know) Iran's largest foreign trade bank, with two branches in Germany. In 2016 (?), BaFin tried to shut it down. They almost succeeded in practice, but the decision was overturned in court. And now this. https://t.co/EJj04zTvmO
| Institution and Branch | Regulator | Action Taken | Assets / Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Saderat Iran (Hamburg Branch) | BaFin (Germany) | License revoked last year; liquidation ordered following sanctions | €62.4 million ($70.16 million), 13 employees |
| Bank Sepah (German Branch) | BaFin (Germany) | Declared insolvent in September | Not specified in source reports |
| Bank Saderat (Domestic Branch) | Lebanon | Authorization to operate domestically revoked this week | One of Iran’s biggest lenders |
German Court Liquidator Controls Bank Saderat Assets
Bank Saderat did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment regarding the Hamburg liquidation proceedings. The lender’s €62.4 million asset base in Germany now falls under the control of the court-appointed liquidator.
Global regulatory pressure continues to close off traditional operating channels for Iranian financial institutions across Europe and the Middle East. With courts enforcing liquidations in Germany and central banks cutting authorizations in Lebanon and the United Kingdom, affected institutions face systemic isolation from international clearing networks.