Central Bank of Iraq to open two branches in Erbil and Sulaimani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has decided to open two branches in Erbil and Sulaimani next month after a year of talks with the Kurdish government.

 

The CBI published a list of job vacancies in Rudaw Newspaper on Monday that calls on the applicants to apply between June 1 and July 1, 2017.

 

A source with knowledge of the talks has told Rudaw that “the branch in Erbil  will provide all services similar to other branches of the bank in other [Iraqi] provinces.”

 

The source also said that the bank will make major changes in the Central Bank of Kurdistan, changing it to fit CBI’s structure.

 

The source added that as soon as the Erbil branch opens, the Central Bank of Kurdistan in Erbil will cease operations.

 

The head of the Kurdistan Central Bank of Kurdistan in Sulaimani said they too are to follow Erbil’s steps in this regard.

 

“After opening the Erbil Branch of the Central Bank of Iraq, the Sulaimani branch will also be opened,” Abdulrahman Salih said. “That is why the procedures to open the bank in Sulaimani will come with a delay.”

 

The CBI had refused in the past to consider the Central Bank of Kurdistan as its official branches in Erbil and Sulaimani. This changed last year when the bank agreed to open the two branches in the Kurdistan Region.

The Central Bank of Kurdistan does not have the power to issue currency and it lacks a monetary policy.