«There is at least one bank in the U.S. that is interested in correspondent relations,» U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Lesslie Viguerie said in an interview with Tazabek.
According to him, specific technical training is organized by the United States, in particular for banks. They have a concept called «know your customer.» They need to know who they are dealing with not to face problems due to sanctions.
This is a technical education about working in various electronic banking systems.
«However, one thing that Kyrgyzstan really wants and that I am often asked about by the country’s authorities is establishing correspondent relations with a U.S. bank, which I think would have a positive impact on the relationship, since it would allow banks to use transactions that facilitate trade. This would help them to easily carry out transactions with the U.S. financial system. I think this is great, and we encourage it,» the Ambassador noted.
However, if banks are involved in transactions that we think violate the sanctions regime, then no U.S. bank will be interested in such a relationship.
Lesslie Viguerie
«This is an ongoing discussion. It is an important indicator of how much we want to support the economic development of Kyrgyzstan, but at the same time, we are concerned about the form of interaction with Russian banks. There is at least one bank in the U.S. that is interested in correspondent relations, and we definitely encourage that,» the Ambassador said.
Lesslie Viguerie noted that this is a private company. They make their own decisions. They look at the size of the market, and the Kyrgyz market is relatively small. They look at how Kyrgyz banks operate in accordance with international financial standards. They also have concerns about the know-your-customer principle. So, all this influences the process of making a decision by the bank.
