An economic observatory reveals the Central Bank of Iraq's conditions for banks to trade in currencies other than the dollar.
An economic 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 European "Euro" and the Chinese "Yuan," noting that among these conditions is that "the bank's capital must be 300 billion Iraqi dinars."
The Eco Iraq Observatory explained in a press statement on Saturday, January 10, 2026, 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 European Euro, the Chinese Yuan, the UAE Dirham, and others, indicating that “this document is part of the banking sector reform program implemented by the Central Bank.”
The observatory noted that “the document included conditions, most notably that the bank’s capital be 300 billion dinars with a plan to reach 400 billion dinars by the end of 2028,” as well as “the bank having sufficient and regular liquidity to cover its obligations and the obligations of customers, in accordance with international banking regulations (LCR and NSFR).”
"The document emphasized the disclosure of the bank's ownership, i.e., providing a complete and approved list of shareholders, with full disclosure of related parties," according to the statement.
The Economic Affairs Observatory “Eco Iraq” had previously 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, or as a “temporary regulatory measure” and not a penalty, to force the bank to comply with transparency. link