By Nour Malas

Source:

September 6, 2010

ABU DHABI—The central bank of the United Arab Emirates is studying the economic impact of United Nations sanctions against Iran and has asked lenders in the U.A.E. to declare remittances sent to Iran on a monthly basis, bankers said Monday.

The central bank asked lenders to report by Tuesday remittances in August, and said it intends “to run this exercise for just a few months,” from August, according to bankers who received a memorandum from the central bank.

The bank said the exercise is meant “to contribute to studies being conducted to better understand the economic impact of the U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran,” the bankers added. The central bank didn’t reply to requests for comment.

The Security Council in June approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in an effort to curb its program of uranium enrichment, which the U.S. and others say is aimed at weapons development and Tehran says is for peaceful uses.

The U.A.E., a major trading partner with Iran, is home to a large Iranian community. The nation has increased its oversight of dealings with Iran since the new round of sanctions, but officials have maintained that implementing the sanctions won’t hurt the region’s broader investment climate.

Last year, the volume of trade between the U.A.E and Iran totaled 31.02 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($8.44 billion), according to data on the U.A.E. Ministry of Trade website.

Bankers said the central bank usually kept track of remittances, in general, every quarter. “We usually give these statistics on a quarterly basis, but this time they want to particularly check the impact of sanctions so are asking for the information on a monthly basis,” said one banker.