The Central Bank of Iraq launches a new initiative to expand the capacity of private banks to support international trade.
The Central Bank of Iraq launches a new initiative to expand the capacity of private banks to support international trade.
2026-02-26 03:20
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Thursday the launch of a new initiative to expand the ability of private banks to support international trade by allowing them to resume cross-border transactions and issue letters of credit in several foreign currencies.
In a statement today, the bank indicated that it had completed the main step in the comprehensive reform process for commercial and Islamic banks and branches of foreign banks by submitting the documents required for review in accordance with the “minimum requirements,” which were summarized as choosing one of three paths: “continuing in the market as independent banking institutions, merging with other banking institutions, or exiting the market.”
The statement affirmed that “all Iraqi banks have submitted the required documents according to the path they chose, allowing the Central Bank to assess their level of compliance with the minimum requirements,” noting that “during the coming months, the banks will work to address any identified gaps and will strive to achieve full compliance with the reform standards.”
The Central Bank of Iraq also announced in its statement the launch of “a new initiative to expand the ability of private banks to support international trade for their clients, whereby banks that meet specific criteria according to the assessment of the Central Bank of Iraq will be allowed to resume cross-border transactions and issue letters of credit in several international currencies, including the Euro, the UAE Dirham, the Chinese Yuan, the Jordanian Dinar, and others,” explaining that “this step comes as a continuation of the path drawn by the Central Bank of Iraq to enhance confidence in the future of the Iraqi economy and the global interconnectedness of the financial sector, and to lead sustainable growth for Iraq.”
shafaq.com
