Trade Bank of Iraq's record start to 2008

In January, 88 of the 126 public sector L/Cs received by TBI (69.8%) were channeled to private sector banks in Iraq.

The figure for 2007 was 28.25% and for 2006 only 7.4%. TBI expects a continuation of this strong support for the private sector in 2008.

TBI's increasing business sharing with private banks is yet another reflection of the efforts TBI is making to assist the overall development of Iraq's banking sector.

'We are very proud of the number of L/Cs we have been channeling through private sector banks and this number is set to grow in 2008, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of L/Cs issued.

The L/Cs were used by private sector banks to, among other things, cover the imports of Iraqi Ministries and Government Departments. In 2007 we also extended credit facilities to some private sector banks in Iraq; such facilities constituting about 26.8% of our total cash credit facilities,' commented the Trade Bank's chairman, Hussein Al Uzri.

In 2006, TBI and the private sector banks agreed on the procedure to be adopted in their public sector L/C business sharing. TBI's criteria for choosing a bank depends on its balance sheet, correspondent network, membership of the SWIFT network and the capacity of its staff and their experience in issuing L/Cs.