The Iraqi banking system’s total assets reached $156.7 billion by the end of 2023, an annual growth rate of 15.1%. Rabee Securities claims that the 15.3% growth in deposits to $101.9 billion was the main factor for this.
Current deposits, which rose 17.2% to $82.1 billion and made up 80.5% of all deposits in the banking system, were the main driver of overall deposit growth.
Furthermore, in 2023, the overall amount of deposits in the private sector rose by 14.7% to $43.2 billion, while the Central Government of Iraq’s deposits increased by 22.7% to $36.1 billion and the public institutions’ deposits increased by 6.1% to $22.6 billion.
“The CBI now permits a restricted number of banks to participate in the CBI foreign currency window and conduct USD transactions as a measure to control the FX flow into the banking system,” stated Aysegul Ozge Ozgur, Head of Research at Rabee Securities.
“As a result of being allowed to participate in these activities, National Bank of Iraq, Bank of Baghdad, and Al-Mansour Bank are among these banks that are benefiting from an expanded market share in USD transactions,” continued Ozgur.
Rabee Securities reports that there are 61 commercial banking institutions in Iraq, consisting of 7 state banks (six non-Islamic and one Islamic) and 54 private banks (25 non-Islamic and 29 Islamic).
Among the most profitable ISX-listed banks are the National Bank of Iraq, Bank of Baghdad, and Al-Mansour Bank, measured by Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA). Their revenue statements and financial sheets demonstrated impressive growth in 2023.
