The Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) was established in July 2003 as an independent government-owned bank.
TBI is led by Mr. Hussein Al-Uzri, Chairman and President of TBI. In addition, the three Ministries of Finance, Oil, Trade as well as the Central Bank offer expert council in their capacity of Board of Directors.
Three features in particular differentiate TBI from other government banks: its origin, its purpose, and its independence.
Trade Bank of Iraq was initially established to facilitate Iraq's domestic and international trade dealings in order to meet the pressing need for humanitarian goods and building and reconstruction materials once the U.N. Oil-for-Food Programme ended at the end of 2003. Read more about Our History
The purpose of the bank is to be a catalyst for regeneration of the Iraqi economy and banking sector and a force for modernisation. Read more about Our Mission
TBI is a state-owned independent commercial bank. Read more about the Banks's Charter under Governance
TBI focuses primarily on trade finance and project finance. The Bank is also working on increasing the number of Visa Cardholders and the network of ATMs in Iraq as part of a well planned strategy. Read more about our Products and services
TBI is now entering a third phase of development. Phase one was the establishment of the Bank. Phase 2 focused on growing the Bank.
Strategic Objectives
We are optimistic - encouraging progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.
We believe that a strong private banking sector is critical to the progress of the banking system in Iraq. One role of TBI is to support and help develop the Iraqi private banking sector. To give an example, in January of 2008, 88 of the 126 public sector Letters of Credit (L/Cs) received by TBI (69,8%) were channelled to private sector banks in Iraq.
TBI also believes that International banks should have a bigger role to play in the future of the banking system in Iraq. At the moment, 12 out of the 33 private banks in Iraq are partially or wholly internationally-owned. After a freeze of the banking sector over 25 years due to the war and sanctions, there are now many opportunities for international banks in the country. We would like to see them play a more pro-active role as this will benefit the Iraqi economy as well as the banks themselves.
2007 was a record year for the Bank, with net profits increasing by 155%, total income rising by 137% and our total assets by 116% over the previous year.
These figures demonstrate that the Iraqi economy and banking sector are moving in the right direction. Iraq's trade volumes continue to grow but the need for infrastructure investment remains substantial.
As a bank, TBI is highly liquid with a strong balance sheet and growing profits.
We've continued to make good progress in 2008 and we face the future with confidence as we continue to play an important role in the rebuilding of Iraq and the development of its private sector.