Among them are “Rafidain and Rasheed”… A plan to merge 4 state-owned banks within two years
Among them are “Rafidain and Rasheed”… A plan to merge 4 state-owned banks within two years
2026-07-11
Shafaq News – Baghdad
An informed government source revealed on Saturday that the Iraqi Ministry of Finance is seeking to restructure and merge a number of state-owned banks, as part of a plan aimed at improving banking performance and enhancing the efficiency of the financial sector.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “the Ministry of Finance intends to merge Rafidain and Rasheed banks into one bank, and the Agricultural and Industrial banks will also be merged into one bank, in addition to merging a number of other banks.”
He added that “the plan includes the financial, administrative and infrastructural restructuring of those banks, and this file was discussed extensively between the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister, where a time limit was set for implementing the merger and restructuring operations, which, in the initial estimates, extends to two years, with the possibility of intensifying work to complete it within a period not exceeding one year.”
The source indicated that “restructuring the major banks in the country will constitute an important step to strengthen the Iraqi banking sector, as well as support monetary and economic stability, enhance the banks’ ability to manage remittances and cash transactions, contribute to controlling the dollar market, and support trade and various economic activities.”
The Eco Iraq Observatory confirmed earlier on Saturday that the number of banks operating in Iraq is among the highest in the Middle East, but their services are still below expectations, and Iraq lacks integrated electronic banks.
According to the observatory’s statement, the number of banks and representative offices operating in the country is 81 banking institutions, indicating that these institutions are distributed among 8 government banks, 24 local commercial banks, 31 local Islamic banks, in addition to 16 foreign banks and two representative offices of foreign banks.
shafaq.com
