Banking sources in Iraq say the Central Bank of Iraq granted preliminary approval to give licenses to four new banks with capital of 250 billion Iraqi dinars ($212 million dollars) per bank.
The four new licenses bring the total number of private banks in Iraq to 35, excluding the following seven Arabic and foreign bank branches working in Iraq: the Bahraini "Arab Banking Corporation", the "Central Bank of Turkey", the Lebanese "ByBlos Bank", the Lebanese "Intercontinental Bank", "Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries", "Iran Melli Bank" and "Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank".
The Chairman of the Department of Banking and Credit Control in the Central Bank of Iraq, Idi Walid Abdel Naby, said there are opportunities for joint cooperation to establish new banks, new branches of foreign banks, or new posts in the capital, to increase the banking sector's contribution to development by lending to productive products. He added that there is an urgent need to expand the number of licenses granted to new banks and to support initiatives for the development of the banking sector in Iraq, indicating there is the possibility of establishing completely foreign owned banks.
© Yalla Finance 2011
