Kurdistan awaits the green light from Baghdad to launch the “National Bank” and pledges to grant loans.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy in the Kurdistan Region stated on Thursday that the National Bank “Nishtiman Bank,” which is planned to be launched in the region, will provide loans and financial advances to employees and citizens, after completing the official approvals from the Central Bank of Iraq.
The legal advisor to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Hawari Kamal, said in a statement seen by Shafaq News Agency that the ministry is “awaiting final approval from the Central Bank of Iraq to grant the official license to begin operations of (Nishtman) Bank,” noting that “the bank’s building has been provided, and a delegation from the Central Bank visited it and expressed its approval of it.”
He added that “the names of the bank’s board members have been selected and sent to the Central Bank for approval, in preparation for granting the final license and officially commencing operations.”
Kamal confirmed that “Nishtman Bank will offer a range of loans and financial advances targeting employees and citizens, including loans for purchasing homes and real estate, financing the purchase of cars, in addition to supporting agricultural and industrial projects, as well as small loans,” indicating that “the size and types of these loans will be determined according to the bank’s financial capacity after it begins operations.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government announced in August 2022 that the steps to establish the National Bank had reached their final stages, and that most of the work related to this project had been completed.
The Director General of Commercial Banks in the region, Mawloud Saber, said in an interview published on the official website of the regional government at the time, that this bank seeks to regulate the government banks and commercial banks, which currently number 94 banks, and is working on reorganizing all departments in the government banks.
He added that “the capital of that bank amounts to 250 billion Iraqi dinars, and 25 billion of that amount was deposited in cash in the special account of the Central Bank of Iraq, Kurdistan Region branch, and 225 billion in commercial banks.”
The National Bank was also scheduled to be launched in the region at the beginning of 2023, but this did not happen, for reasons unknown.
Shafaq.com