Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
Last month, Central Bank of Iraq governor Al-Shibibi told AFP he was hoping foreign banks would play a bigger role in developing Iraq’s financial system. From the banks’ point of view, he said, “the prospects are good, except for security.” But the foreign institutions that have already entered the Iraqi market through investments in local […]
Starting September 1, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has announced it will be reducing the required reserve rate (RRR) from 20% to 15%. As this move frees up an additional 5% of deposits for the banks to lend out, you might think it would be positive for loan growth and stimulative for the economy […]
Iraq's core inflation continued to slow in July, dropping to an annual rate of 1.7 percent from 2.7 percent in June, a central bank official said on Monday, according to a report from Reuters. The bank gave no immediate explanation for the fall in core inflation, which excludes expenditures on fuel. To spur investment and […]
AFP reports that Iraq's privately-owned banks have called for the country's state-owned lenders to be privatised, to break up a near monopoly in lending by politicians whose actions remain stuck in the Saddam-era. Although foreign cash has flowed in since the US-led invasion of 2003, ministers still opt to use government banks to do business […]
On August 8, the Iraq Securities Commission (ISC) announced that a total of 18 companies would be suspended for failing to submit their 2009 financials. Of these, 6 had already been suspended for never having submitted 2008 financials. (See the table for a complete list of the companies.) As of August 25, only four of […]
There has been much speculation in recent months that the Iraqi dinar would be re-based, knocking off the last three zeros. The lastest news is that Iraq will not in fact remove the zeros from its currency, because it will not resolve inflation and will create opportunities for corruption, reports AKnews, citing a senior source […]
Iraq’s central bank has decided to cut commercial banks’ reserve requirement to 15 percent from 20 percent, in order to spur bank lending as core inflation continues to slow, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a Central Bank of Iraq official. Mudher Kasim, a senior advisor in the bank, said the central bank made the move […]
By Ahmad Saleh, IraqiXchange. Kindi Veterinary Vaccines (ISX: IKLV) surprises investors and announces after tax net profit of 378 mil IQD for 2009, up tenfold from the previous year. On August 18th it published its annual results and returned to trading after being suspended from the Iraq Stock Exchange earlier this month for not disclosing […]
Turkish bank Vakifbank will open a branch in the northern Iraq Kurdish city of Erbil by the end of this year, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily on Friday. “We have submitted an application to the central Iraqi government to open a new branch of the bank in Erbil,” Suleyman Kalkan, Director General of the […]
We launch our new Jobs in Iraq page today on the IBN web site in response to reader demand. This is a free reciprocal service for Recruitment Agencies and Employers with jobs on offer in Iraq. For readers it provides a welcome source of employment options in a country crying out for skilled labour and […]
Iraqi banks might offer huge growth opportunities in the future for investors willing to take some risks, but analysts and investors say the industry needs to consolidate first and change its business model, according to a report from Reuters. With violence ebbing from the peak of sectarian warfare in 2006/07, foreign firms and banks are […]
The Iraqi subsidiary of UK bank HSBC is eyeing opportunities to fund infrastructure projects as the country is being rebuilt, while the lender gradually opens more branches, the unit's chief executive said, in an interview for Reuters. As Iraq's economy recoves slowly after years of violence since the US-led war in 2003, regional and some […]
