“Eco Iraq” clarifies the Central Bank’s conditions for banks prohibited from dealing in dollars to deal in euros.
“Eco Iraq” clarifies the Central Bank’s conditions for banks prohibited from dealing in dollars to deal in euros.
2026-01-10
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Saturday, the “Eco Iraq” observatory announced the new conditions set by the Central Bank of Iraq for banks wishing to trade foreign currencies other than the dollar, such as the euro and the Chinese yuan, noting that among these conditions is that the bank’s capital must be 300 billion Iraqi dinars.
The observatory explained in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “the Central Bank circulated a document entitled (Guidelines and Models for Assessing Minimum Requirements) for banks prohibited from dealing in dollars and wishing to work in other foreign currencies such as the Euro, Yuan, UAE Dirham and others,” indicating that “this document is part of the banking sector reform program implemented by the Central Bank.”
The statement indicated that the document included conditions, the most prominent of which was that the bank’s capital should be 300 billion dinars, with a plan to reach 400 billion dinars by the end of 2028.
According to the observatory, the bank must have sufficient and regular liquidity to cover its obligations and those of its customers, in accordance with international banking regulations (LCR and NSFR).
He pointed out that the document also stressed the disclosure of the bank’s ownership, i.e., providing a complete and approved list of shareholders, with full disclosure of related parties.
The Economic Affairs Observatory “Eco Iraq” revealed that 35 out of 72 banks operating in Iraq were subject to US sanctions, either due to sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), i.e., the bank being placed on an international blacklist and its financial transactions being paralyzed, or its dollar transactions being stopped, as a temporary regulatory measure and not a punishment, to force the bank to comply with transparency.
shafaq.com
