By John Lee.
Seven Iraqi banks have been cleared to re-enter non-dollar international correspondent banking channels, following high-level meetings between the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and officials at the US Treasury.
The meetings followed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's official visit to the United States and his meeting with the US President. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the two sides reached a mutual understanding under which restricted Iraqi banks may return to non-dollar external correspondent channels once they have met the required compliance and governance standards and completed the first phase of the CBI's banking sector reform and re-licensing programme. Banks that complete the full reform and re-licensing requirements will subsequently regain eligibility for US dollar transactions.
The CBI governor stated that seven banks are currently qualified to return to non-dollar correspondent banking, with the right to conduct dollar transactions to follow upon completion of further compliance and governance requirements.
The CBI reaffirmed its commitment to comprehensive assessment of all Iraqi banks, enhanced supervision, and sustained compliance with international standards covering governance, risk management, and anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements. Banks that fail to meet these standards remain subject to restriction, suspension of access to international financial channels, or licence revocation.
(Source: Prime Minister's Office)
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