The Director General of the Association of Banks, Dr. Maher Al-Mahrouq, confirmed that Jordanian banks are present today on 5 continents in the world.

He said during one of the sessions of the Jordanian-Iraqi Business and Finance Forum, which opened today, Tuesday, and is organized by the Iraqi Business Council in Amman, that this presence confirms the level of great development that the banking sector has reached in the Kingdom.

During the session “Investing in the Financial and Banking Sector, Opportunities, Challenges, Experiences and Success Stories,” Al-Mahrouq indicated that the Iraqi market is one of the most important Arab markets for Jordanian banks, due to the economic relations and the great experiences that link the two countries.

He indicated that Jordanian banks operate in Iraq through direct ownership in Iraqi banks, or through the establishment of branches and representative offices.

He pointed to many factors that enhance the Jordanian banking presence in Iraq, including the promotion of trade and investment, financial stability, the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and the development of the financial structure.

In turn, the Director General of Banking Studies at the Iraqi Banking Bank, Dr. Bassem Muhammad, indicated that the Jordanian-Iraqi economic relations are distinguished, and there are common interests of the two countries that are constantly evolving to higher levels, especially in the banking sector.

He pointed out that Iraq is going through today a new phase of work, especially in light of the state of stability it is witnessing, which represents an opportunity to enhance economic and investment cooperation with Jordan.

He pointed out that the Central Bank of Iraq was able, during the last period, to face the economic challenges, through the initiatives it launched to support the banking sector to sustain the financing process that it provides to the economic sectors.

He pointed out that the Iraqi Central Bank worked to establish a company to guarantee deposits, expand financial inclusion and enhance electronic payment operations, in addition to a trend to establish a pioneering bank to support small and medium enterprises.

For his part, the General Manager of the Bank of Baghdad, Basil Al-Dahi, referred to the bank’s experience as the first private Iraqi bank, in addition to the services it provides to companies and individuals.

For her part, the Managing Director of the International Islamic Bank in Iraq, Suha Al-Kafai, drew attention to the new directions of Iraqi banks with regard to electronic payment operations, facilitating investors, companies and individuals, and making their businesses successful with ease, and in line with the Iraqi government’s directives regarding digital transformation.

The representative of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Ali Tariq, reviewed some of the developments achieved by the Iraqi banking sector in recent years, noting that deposits in Iraqi banks increased from 79 trillion Iraqi dinars in 2018 to 128 trillion Iraqi dinars last year.

He pointed to an increase in the number of accounts with Iraqi banks from 1.6 million accounts in 2018 to 8.7 million accounts during the past year.

Petra