An Iraqi bank raises its capital to more than half a trillion dinars.
An Iraqi bank raises its capital to more than half a trillion dinars.
3-28-2025
The General Assembly of the National Bank of Iraq (NBI) approved, in its annual meeting, the Board of Directors’ recommendation to increase the bank’s capital from 400 billion dinars to 520 billion dinars, representing 30% of the capital, and distribute the increase as free shares to shareholders, in addition to a 20% cash dividend worth 80 billion dinars.
The bank said in a statement, “The bank’s General Assembly, in a meeting attended by a number of board members, approved the board’s report for the fiscal year, the final accounts for 2024, and the expansion plan for the current year, which includes the opening of six new branches in various Iraqi governorates. The General Assembly also approved increasing the number of board members to nine and elected a new board of directors.”
Bassem Khalil Al-Salem, Chairman of the National Bank of Iraq’s Board of Directors, said, “Last year was exceptional on all fronts, particularly in achieving qualitative accomplishments that reflect the bank’s strength and resilience in the face of economic challenges, and in strengthening its presence as a leading financial institution in the Iraqi banking sector thanks to a clear strategic vision, prudent management, and a committed team.”
Al-Salem emphasized that “these results were driven by flexible monetary policies and effective banking procedures by the Central Bank of Iraq, which responded quickly to economic and political changes, helped contain the impact of these changes on the Iraqi economy, and maintained exchange rate stability, which strengthened the role of the banking sector and protected the rights of depositors and shareholders.”
Al-Salem said, “Last year witnessed an outstanding financial performance, as the bank achieved net profits after tax of 252 billion Iraqi dinars, compared to 190 billion Iraqi dinars in 2023. Net interest income also rose to 166 billion Iraqi dinars, compared to 100 billion Iraqi dinars, a growth rate of 66%.”
He pointed out that total income will rise to 452 billion dinars in 2024, compared to 343.1 billion dinars in 2023, representing a growth rate of 31.7%. This reflects the effectiveness of the bank’s strategy, which focuses on core banking services such as banking loans for individuals, large, medium, and small companies, and trade finance services for major companies.
Al-Salem expressed his gratitude to the Central Bank of Iraq, represented by its Governor and the Bank’s staff, for their continued support of the Iraqi banking sector and their cooperation, which has contributed to the sector’s development and provided an environment conducive to growth and development.
For his part, the Managing Director of the National Bank of Iraq, Ayman Abu Dahim, said, “Customer deposits increased to 3.5 trillion dinars in 2024, compared to 2.9 trillion dinars in 2023, a growth rate of 90%. Direct credit facilities also increased to 1.3 trillion dinars, compared to 951 billion dinars for the two years of comparison, a growth rate of 18%.”
He explained that “this growth was the result of an expansion in loans granted to employees whose salaries are domiciled with the bank, as well as to small, medium, and large enterprises,” stressing that “the growth in various financial indicators contributed to increasing the bank’s assets to 5.1 trillion dinars from 3.9 trillion dinars, a growth rate of 29%.”
Abu Dahim said, “For the first time in the bank’s history, its assets are approaching this mark (5.1 trillion dinars), which reflects the growth in the volume of banking business, the increase in our market share, and our growing ability to serve our customers. Accordingly, the bank becomes the largest among Iraqi private banks in terms of asset size.”
On the expansion front, Abu Dahim said, “We have added 104 new ATMs, bringing our network to 294, while the number of branches in Iraq has reached 33. We are also planning to open six new branches in early 2025, in addition to our branch in Saudi Arabia, which provides valuable services to Saudi and Iraqi companies.”
He emphasized the bank’s commitment to a comprehensive strategy focused on sustainability and digital transformation to serve customers. The bank has worked to keep pace with the latest technological developments and enhance information security and the efficiency of banking services, including installing the T24 banking system from the Swiss company Temenos and launching a new anti-money laundering management system ( AML Sirion ).
Regarding the bank’s plans for 2025, Abu Dahim said, “We will continue to expand our branch network to reach 44 branches, in addition to increasing our ATM network to reach 400 ATMs. We will focus on developing and marketing electronic banking services, increasing the bank’s share in trade financing for large companies, expanding the salary localization project and financing small and medium-sized enterprises, and expanding our ability to attract deposits from individuals, companies, and official government institutions, armed with the confidence the bank has gained in the banking sector, supported by its financial results and advanced services.”
miliq.news
