The latest Iraq financial and banking news including Dinar, Investment Oppportunities, Funds news and more.
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 […]
At the end of June, Al Ahli United Bank (AUB) announced that it was seeking to raise its stake in Commercial Bank of Iraq (BCOI) from 49% to 60% by purchasing 6.6 billion BCOI shares in the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX). The purchases are to take place over a two-month period starting July 4, with […]
So far two subscription periods for Warka Bank’s ID 150 bn rights issue have come and gone without any official announcement of the results. The last date for existing shareholders to subscribe was May 16. As most of them did not take up their rights, there was a subsequent public offering open to everyone except […]
It’s always been a bit of a mystery why anyone should care about bonus share issues. Since a company’s retained earnings are already owned by the shareholders, you would think that converting these earnings into shares shouldn’t have any effect on an investor’s returns. Following a bonus, the share price should logically fall by an […]
Both public and private sectors are working hand in hand to establish and develop a modern financial sector in the Region that can support the economic growth in the Region, measure up with international standards, and be connected to world markets, something that is key to the soundness and efficiency of this sector. The sector […]
On July 6, the website of Kurdistan’s Peyamner News Agency reported that Iraq’s second stock exchange had “opened” in the Kurdish city of Erbil. It wasn’t clear what was meant by opening, however. The Erbil Stock Exchange (ESX) was licensed in February and trading is not due to start until later this year. I believe […]
The Iraqi paper Addustour (Constitution) has reported that recent attacks on financial institutions have led some savers to withdraw cash from their bank deposits and keep it hidden at home. At first glance, it might seem that such a trend could potentially lead to runs on the banks or even a breakdown in the payments […]
Over the last three months, stocks accounting for over half the turnover on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) in the first quarter of this year have been suspended from trading. (See chart. Trading values for the quarter were computed from statistics available in the Rabee Securities Weekly Bulletin, online at http://rabeesecurities.com) Of the first quarter’s […]
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri and Iraqi Finance Minster Baqir Jabr al-Zubaidi met on Sunday to discuss cooperation and relations between the two countries. Later, Syria's Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Hussein discussed with al-Zubaidi the positive impact of Syrian-Iraqi financial cooperation on economic relations which serve the interest of both countries. Minister al-Hussein stressed […]
An Iraqi Economist said on Thursday that the Central Bank began to reduce interest rates by approximately six percent for loans and four percent for bank deposits, to encourage investments in the country, after a series of robberies that took place recently on Iraqi banks. The expert said: "This shift reflects a new policy of […]
According to a report from AK News, the Iraqi government is planning to borrow $5 billion from the World Bank to fund its 2010 general budget deficit, Iraq’s acting Finance Minister said Wednesday. Iraq’s budget for 2010 is suffering a deficit of IQD23 trillion Iraqi dinars [approx $19bn] which the government is planning to narrow […]
The financial services sector looks set for rapid expansion in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a brand new stock exchange gets up and running and HSBC considers putting its own-brand on high street branches in the Region. International banking and financial services will play a significant role in the economic development of the Region, […]
