Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
Citigroup and Bank of Baghdad have announced a strategic partnership which offers corporate clients, with major business presence in Iraq, a seamless cash management solution and other relevant banking services. The client offer encompasses account services, domestic and international payments and collections, liquidity management and electronic banking solutions, backed by a comprehensive customer service and […]
The UK's former prime minister, the Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH, addressed the Kurdistan National Assembly on Sunday 29th May. The full text of his address is provided below: I am immensely grateful to President Barzani for his kind invitation for me to visit Kurdistan. His invitation was issued a long time ago […]
Rabee Securities has announced the opening of a new branch office in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The company statement says that the "city of Erbil is fast becoming a commercial and industrial hub in Iraq. Rabee Securities' Erbil branch will be the first branch of an ISX licensed broker dealer to start operations in this […]
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. For a long time now, the discussion continues within different circles and corridors in Iraq, on whether microfinance institutions (MFIs) can operate as NGOs and continue providing micro-loans to low-income entrepreneurs who lack access to finance […]
Private banking reform is needed in Iraq, but iPhones may help. Abu Talib Al-Hashimi, chairman of Gulf Commercial Bank, is critical of the state stranglehold on banking in Iraq, reports Aswat Al-Iraq. By holding government deposits at government banks only, "This situation made the private sector banking system paralyzed and lacking its flexibility as private […]
Further to our article on Citigroup's planned expansion into Iraq, Bloomberg News has run a piece on this story. The video includes an interview with Kyle Stelma of Dunia Frontier Consultants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUEHKUwVIsw
Bloomberg reports that Citigroup, the U.S. bank which earns about a $1 billion in revenue from the Middle East, has hired a former U.S. diplomat to oversee its team in Iraq as the holder of the world’s fourth-biggest oil reserves rebuilds its economy. “We are very optimistic about Iraq over the next three to five […]
The state-owned Trade Bank of Iraq, established in 2003 to finance trade and help in the reconstruction of the country, said profit rose 18 percent last year, according to a report from Bloomberg. Net income climbed to $361 million, Hussein al-Urzi, president and chairman said on Wednesday. Operating income gained 18 percent to $400 million […]
Iraqis are now officially allowed to transfer up to $50,000 [60 million Iraq dinars] per transaction in hard cash across the world, the Central Bank says. According to a report from Azzaman, the decision follows restrictions on hard cash transfers under which Iraqi banks and exchange offices were obliged to declare to the tax authorities […]
By Chris Bowers, British Consul General in Erbil. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News. Imagine a visitor who arrives at Erbil International Airport. He passes a car showroom and heads to a hotel. He flicks a switch and is pleased to see the room illuminated […]
“Without a change in the law, Iraq’s insurance industry is at risk of standing still”, says CEO of AAIB Insurance Brokers. AAIB Insurance Brokers, Iraq’s leading international insurance broker, together with Marsh, the world’s largest insurance broker, hosted an Insurance Conference in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on 27 April. The event brought together over 40 […]
The advisor to the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) has said that inflation jumped from 5.5% in February to 5.7% due rising electricity prices in Iraq. Muzher Mouhammed told AKnews that the high rate of inflation in Iraq is due to the March hike in electricity prices. "The rising inflation simply affects the economy but does […]
