Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
By John Lee. A number of banks previously restricted from conducting dollar transactions have now completed the requirements of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI)'s reform plan and met the relevant supervisory and technical standards, including strengthening their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks. The CBI said the reinstatement of these banks to foreign currency […]
By John Lee. Iraq has been added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring -- commonly known as the grey list -- following the organisation's June 2026 plenary session. Iraq made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MENAFATF to strengthen the effectiveness of its anti-money […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has firmly denied reports that it intends to change the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar. In a statement, it said a forged document is being circulated claiming that the Prime Minister's office had submitted a request to the Finance Committee of the Council of Representatives […]
By John Lee. S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its 'B-' long-term and 'B' short-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings on Iraq. It added: "We removed the long-term ratings from CreditWatch, where we placed them with negative implications on March 17, 2026. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative." More details, including economic stats, […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has issued a clarifying statement rejecting characterisations of its treasury discounting operations as currency printing, and reaffirming its commitment to monetary stability. In a statement on Sunday, it said discounting treasury bills provides temporary liquidity against an existing government debt instrument, which is recovered at maturity. […]
The following were the ten most read dinar-related articles on Iraq Business News for the month of May: CBI Boss says No Plan to Revalue Iraqi Dinar What a New Iraqi PM means for Your Dinars You Bought Iraqi Dinars. Now What? Iraq Banking Sector Reform: Second Phase Under Way "Deleting the Zeros": What Iraq […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Ministry of Finance has held talks with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on financial and technical cooperation and support for development priorities in Iraq. Finance Minister Falah Sari received EBRD Iraq Country Head Katarina Bjorlin Hansen on Sunday to discuss the outlook for collaboration. The minister said the […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity has disrupted an attempt to fraudulently obtain nearly IQD 1.5 trillion (USD 1.1 billion) from two state-owned banks in Baghdad. A field team from the commission's Baghdad Investigations Directorate, working in coordination with judicial authorities, apprehended three suspects at the headquarters of Rafidain Bank. The suspects were […]
From Shafaq. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's "Swiss dinar" still lives in Kurdistan livestock markets More than 35 years after Iraq's old "Swiss dinar" disappeared from circulation, livestock traders across the Kurdistan Region still use the former currency as the […]
By John Lee. The Iraq Securities Commission (ISC) has issued a circular to all brokerage companies requiring the adoption of a new risk-based supervisory guide covering the institutional framework and core elements of risk-based oversight and supervision. It says the measure is in line with recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and forms […]
By John Lee. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has explicitly dismissed any plan to adjust the official dinar foreign exchange rate. According to a report from Iraqi News, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq confirmed that the current monetary policy remains committed to maintaining the official rate of 130,000 IQD per 100 USD. The Governor […]
By John Lee. Iraq's new Prime Minister, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, chaired the first regular session of the Council of Ministers on Saturday, issuing a series of directives to ministers that outline the government's policy priorities. According to the Prime Minister's media office, the session included ministerial briefings on the current state of their respective ministries […]
