UAB: Iraq's electronic banking services are pretty advanced

INA-  Baghdad


While noting that Iraq's banking sector is deep rooted and plays a crucial role in the country's economic development, the Union of Arab Banks confirmed on Monday that Iraq is highly advanced in terms of electronic banking services. 

"There is a deprivation of dealing in the dollar and not sanctions, because sanctions mean inclusion on the sanctions list," Wissam Fattouh, Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Banks, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), emphasizing that "the impact of deprivation is almost equivalent to sanctions because banks are difficult to work without the dollar currency, which represents the currency of international trade."
 
"The financial sector in Iraq is a well-established sector with a rich history," continued Fattouh. "Its total assets exceed $157.9 billion, and its deposits exceed $100 billion." Consequently, this sector is significant and plays a critical role in the economic growth of the country's core."   
 
"The application of international standards is imperative, particularly concerning the laws and standards in place to combat money laundering and terrorist financing," he emphasized.  
 
In order to accomplish this crucial goal—namely, the training and qualification of Iraqi cadres—he referred to "the involvement of the strategy between the Union of Arab Banks and the Association of Iraqi Private Banks."  
 
Following Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's significant and historic visit to the United States of America, he noted, "there is a great partnership between Iraq and the United States of America for decades and trade exchange."   
 
"Today, safeguarding the Iraqi financial sector is crucial, as trade is conducted through Iraqi banks rather than external ones," he stated.